


Change My World

by StarScheme



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Mermaid Spinel, SU - Freeform, Spinel - Freeform, Spineven, Steven Universe - Freeform, Stevinel, Stevnel, mermaid, stenel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-01-27 20:40:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 65,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21398317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarScheme/pseuds/StarScheme
Summary: In this SU AU, Spinel is a Mermaid that's been captured and is about to be put on display until Steven sets her free. Determined to get Spinel back home, Steven is now on the run from the law and ends up taking several detours along the way as he and Spinel dig deeper into the Humans reason for capturing the Mermaids.
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), Spinel/Steven Universe
Comments: 190
Kudos: 465





	1. That Fateful Day

_ **July, 7, 42-61** _

_ **That day was to be a simple run about town. The streets were alive and the townsfolk more chipper than I've ever seen them. With everyone in such high spirits, surely this year's festival was shaping up to be something grand.** _

_ **However, it wasn't long before I learned of the reason for all the excitement. As it turns out, a mermaid had been captured. They were bringing her in on the next boat and it was already docking. A mermaid hadn't been seen in over one thousand years. They used to live close to the shores, until fear spread amongst the people on land. Now, capturing a mermaid was an easy path to gold and perhaps a new title.** _

_ **The mermaid would be put on display for everyone to see. It was a tradition that when a mermaid was captured, it would be toured for entertainment on its way to the capital where it would be presented to the royal family in exchange for a reward.** _

_ **Though it was mostly curiosity that led me there, it turned out that very curiosity would lead me down a road I never imagined for myself. For that was the day I met my first mermaid and the day…my life changed forever. It was on that day; I met Spinel. -S, Universe** _

Though it was meant to be just another day for the town, the streets bustled about as if the Queen herself was to make an appearance. Steven had already finished his morning routine, making sure to buy the supplies he needed for the next week or so. The young man had only just turned 17yrs old, but was already living on his own just outside of town. His father, missing for the last four years of his life, had already been presumed dead.

It was because of this, the people in town knew Steven well. Many families had offered to take him in, but the boy refused every time, ever optimistic that his father would come home and shrugging off the people that insisted Greg was no longer of this world.

"Steven!" A young girl called out as she pushed her way through the unusual high volume of people on the street.

"Oh, good morning Connie," Steven greeted with a smile.

Connie Maheswaran. A young, bespectacled woman that had been a close friend to Steven ever since his father disappeared. Her dark skin was covered in dirt already and her long ebony hair had been messily tied up in a bun, no doubt in haste. Though she wore a rather expensive looking dress, it was tied up towards her knees, clearly in an attempt to keep the hem from the dirt, but it appeared that had failed miserably.

"Your mother is going to throw a fit when she sees you," Steven chuckled.

Connie looked down at herself and smiled nervously as she pat her dress down, loosening the string that tied it up to her knees and letting it flow down towards her ankles once more. "Yeah, well…I really wanted to get a look at the ship that's bringing the mermaid in. Trying to get through the crowd in this dress was such a hassle and my hair kept getting caught."

"But how'd you get so dirty?"

Connie sighed miserably, "I…got into a little scuffle with one of the boys."

"Again?" asked Steven, unsurprised.

"Listen to this, Steven," Connie insisted, "he was talking about the mermaid in such a rude manner! He was laughing and even said he hoped she would misbehave so he could see her punished! I couldn't just sit back after hearing that. Before I knew it, my book was out of my hands and knocking him in the back of the head. I mean, don't you think this is barbaric?! The first mermaid to be seen in my lifetime and she's to be caged on display as some side show before she's hauled off to the capital like the ones in the past. When my father told me about this morning, I nearly screamed in protest. I wanted to get close enough to the boat so the sailors could hear me, but then I heard that boy…"

Steven listened as Connie continued to talk about the injustice humanity was practicing. Though she tended to lose herself when she got fired up, it's why Steven enjoyed her company. She wasn't like most of the other townsfolk. She was always pushing for change and speaking out against something she found to be unfair. People might have shunned her for it if it weren't for her Mothers position. Being a Doctor was a well respected profession and no one dared offend the physicians only daughter, lest their own children ever needed treatment.

"…I mean it's just deplorable," continued Connie with a frown as she looked out at the celebrating masses. "This kind of prejudice is disgusting."

Steven nodded his head, noticing that the crowd had nearly doubled in size since they began talking. "…I agree. I'd love to see a mermaid…but not like this. I mean, it's not just this, but who knows what happens to them at the capital."

"The royal family should be asham—-eep!" Connie was confident in her words until she spotted her father weaving his way through the crowds. Remembering her filthy dress, Connie grabbed Stevens bag of supplies in a panic.

"Hey! Don't you have to go and report in for work soon? I bet you don't have time to take these home. Why don't I do that for you? I'll be sure to look for you after your shift ends! Bye Steven!" She spoke so quickly and rushed off without waiting for a reply that Steven just sighed with a smile.

Now that he no longer had to make his trip home, Steven made his way to the boardwalk where he reported daily for work. With the festival only a day away, there were a lot of odd jobs to go around and Steven was in high demand for most manual labor jobs since he seemed to be a lot stronger than the other men.

"Ah, Steven my boy," greeted an overly cheerful looking man.

"Good morning, Mr. Smiley. You need any help today?" asked Steven as the man threw an arm around his shoulder.

"I sure do! I've been waiting to hand out this job just for you, Steven. I need someone real strong and trustworthy. You might have heard that a mermaid is being brought in, well, it just happens she's going to be displayed right in the middle of my amusement park! Can you imagine all the business that's going to bring me?" exclaimed the joyous man with a chuckle. "So I need you to set up the stage."

Steven grimaced. He didn't like the idea of helping to humiliate the mermaid in any way.  
"Ah…I'd rather do something else…"

"But Steven, who else could I trust with this?" Mr. Smiley asked as his smile faded. He scanned the people around them before leaning in close, "between you and me," he began in a hushed voice, "the mermaid is already back stage. I can't just let anyone help with the set up. You're the most honest kid I know. Anyone else might try to steal a scale or hurt the creature just for kicks. So I was really hoping that you could…you know, keep an eye on the mermaid a bit. I don't think anyone could out muscle you to get to her."

It was true. Though Steven knew most people in town wouldn't be so cruel, there were a lot of strangers from other places hoping to see the mermaid and who knew how many of them hated her just out of prejudice. "…f…fine." Steven agreed reluctantly.

"That's my boy!" exclaimed Mr. Smiley, leaning back up and slapping the boys back with his trademark grin restored. "Be sure to find me before the curtain goes up! I'll be sure to reward you!"

"…just the regular pay is fine…" said Steven quietly. He didn't even know if he wanted to get paid for something like this. Once he was given his instructions, Steven trudged to the backstage area where the mermaid was being held. Even if he was a little curious to see his first Mermaid, this was not how he hoped it would happen. As he approached, two men stood at attention, seemingly guarding the cage where the mermaid was being held. Though it appeared to be a large cage, it was covered by a loose curtain. All Steven could see was the very bottom and a faint pink fin that swished along the floor of the cage.

"I'm here to…relieve you…I guess." Steven announced to the gentlemen, pulling out a piece of paper that Mr. Smiley had given him.

One of the guards smiled, "Finally. My feet are killing me. We've been at sea with this _thing_ for weeks and I need a break."

Steven frowned. Why did he have to interact with people like this? Connie was right. Simply deplorable.  
"…Shouldn't she be in water?" he asked as he looked past the men, noting how she appeared to be inside a dry cage.

"Don't you know anything about mermaids, kid?" One of the guards asked with a raised brow. "In the water, they can use magic and stuff. If you want to keep on docile, you have to make sure they don't get any water."

"but isn't that painful?" Steven asked, unable to hide his concern. "They NEED water."

"It's not gonna kill the thing. Just makes it weak, and trust me, you don't want this thing to gain any strength. I was there when our captain caught the beast. We're lucky it didn't kill us all at sea. Now, don't be no bleed'n heart and just make sure no one gets too close to the thing, 'kay?"  
With that, the guards walked off, laughing as they exchanged jokes. Surely about Steven's concern for the mermaid.

He waited a good few minutes to make sure neither of the sailors would be coming back for anything. Once he was he'd be left alone, he took a deep breath and apologized to Mr. Smiley internally. How could he possibly sit idly by while this happened? Especially when he had this rare chance to actually do something about it? He turned towards the cage and grabbed the heavy curtain, pulling it off with ease to reveal the mermaid at last.

Steven stared in awe for a moment once he caught sight of the creature. The mermaid had a light pink tint to her human skin, but her scales were a brighter pink, covering most of her chest in what appeared to be the shape of an upside down heart. Her tail was covered in those bright pink scales as well, the fin at the bottom nearly transparent against the cage floor. Her face was mostly human, save for the ears that resembled a fish's fin. She had dull red hair that had been pinned up in pigtails, but what Steven noticed more than anything else, was her bright, magenta colored eyes and the dark lines that ran down her cheeks like permanent tears. The mermaid was breathing heavily, her arms above her head as she was tied tight around the wrists with a rope that connected to the roof of the cage. She had been glaring at Steven the moment he removed the curtain. Even if her gaze was full of scorn, Steven couldn't help but think she was beautiful.

Taking a knee in order to meet her gaze, Steven leaned close, placing his hands on the bars.  
"My name is Steven. …what's yours?" he asked in a whisper.

The mermaid only continued to leer at him, either unwilling to speak or unable to. She **did **look terribly weak. Not having any water must have really done a number on her and he didn't know enough about Mermaids to know exactly how it affected them. He actually didn't know if she could even understand him. He looked around the cage and then scanned the backstage area. How was he supposed to get her out of here without anyone noticing? No matter how heavy she was, Steven was sure that wouldn't be a problem for him, but he couldn't just carry her off in his arms in broad daylight. There were too many people wandering around they were all on edge to see the mermaid. He'd have to find something to hide her in that no one would find too suspicious.

The mermaid watched cautiously as Steven rushed about backstage, gathering up random things and large wheelbarrow. He placed everything in a pile beside the cage and looked around once again. Though he was trying to be cautious, he also knew he had to be quick. Who knew when the sailors would return. Leaning back down to meet the mermaids eyes, Steven offered a smile, hoping that even if she didn't understand him, she would see he was not trying to hurt her.

"I'm going to get you out of here," he stated calmly before he grabbed the bars and began to pull, gritting his teeth as they slowly started to budge. The mermaid watched in surprise now, amazed that a human had enough strength to pull off these iron bars. Once the bars were removed, Steven placed them down carefully and slipped his way into the cage.

The mermaid's tail swished along the floor as she attempted to back up against the bars, pulling at the ropes that held her wrists. Steven could see he had alarmed her. Holding his hands up, he stopped moving. "…I'm not going to hurt you, but we have to hurry. I have to get you out of here before someone comes to check on you." He insisted quietly.

With a raised brow, the mermaid allowed Steven to get closer, watching in confusion as he reached up and worked to untie the ropes that held her wrists. The ropes fell down into the mermaids lap and she pulled her arms back to herself with a brief look of relief. Glancing down, Steven could see how bruised and red her wrists were, the scales had all but been rubbed off or peeled back. It must have been from her struggling. He wanted to give her time, but they didn't have much to spare.  
"…I'm sorry they hurt you. …If you can understand me a little…I need to put you in there," he explained, pointing to the wheelbarrow behind him. "I'll try and get you to the water, but I have to hide you or they'll just catch you again."

The mermaid stared in silence, glancing from Steven to the junk pile behind him. Even though it seemed like he didn't want to hurt her, she couldn't be sure that this wasn't some trick. Perhaps he just wanted to capture her himself in order to get the reward instead of that ship's captain. Once more, he seemed under the impression that she couldn't understand him. So why was he telling her that he'd help her to escape if he thought she didn't speak his language? Was that some part his plan to trick her? Still, there weren't a lot of other chances to get out of here and if he **was** planning on keeping her for himself, there may have been a better chance to get the upper hand with just him.  
"…Okay." She answered finally.

Steven gasped lightly. Her voice may have been hoarse and weak, but he heard her clearly. With a bright smile, he extended his arms slowly. Now that he was sure she could understand him, this was going to be much easier. "I'm going to pick you up and put you in there," he informed her before scooping her up effortlessly, once again surprising the mermaid with his strength. Surely her tail was quite heavy on land. Placing her inside the wheelbarrow as gently as he could, he looked down at her sympathetically as he grabbed a couple heavy curtains for the stage. "I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to cover you with a few things. Try not to move either, or someone might think something is up."

She said nothing, but nodded her head in response. With one last smile towards her, Steven placed the curtains over her, doing his best to be careful as he attempted to arrange her tail inside the wheelbarrow comfortably. He could see all the missing scales and cuts that she had sustained and he didn't want to cause her anymore pain. Once she was completely covered up, Steven placed a few more random things on top of her, making sure it was as light as possible. The last thing he did was cover the cage back up, hopefully in order to give them a head start. Steven took a long, deep breath. This was the first crime he had ever committed, but if it was to save someone, so be it. He just hoped that he could get her into the water before he was caught, so at the very least, she could get home safely.


	2. See you Later, My Friend

Having left the backstage area carting the wheelbarrow along, Steven found that this was far more nerve wracking then he anticipated. He couldn't remember how to act in public. He wasn't even sure at what pace he should be walking. If he went too fast, people might get suspicious. Or maybe he was over thinking it.

All he had to do is make sure to avoid Mr. Smiley and those sailors. They were the only people that knew he was supposed to be guarding the Mermaid. Hopefully, no one would notice she was gone until it was too late.

No one was giving him a second glance as Steven weaved through the crowds, trying to reach the water. He'd have to find a spot where no one was watching and he certainly couldn't release her at the docks where all those sailors were. This plan was not thought out enough. He might have been angry at himself for that had it not been for the time crunch they were under.

Then, a thought occurred to him. Once they saw her missing, the first place they would look is around the water. If they assumed that Steven was trying to help her escape, they would guard the shores. She might just end up getting caught again.

"Okay, okay," he muttered to himself in an attempt to calm his nerves. Pushing the wheelbarrow quickly behind a tent that was being set up, Steven lifted the curtain slightly to peek in on the mermaid. She didn't look good. Not that he was surprised. He had placed her under very heavy velvet curtains and it was already so hot that day.

If he couldn't take her to the water right away, he had to at least get her out of the sun and fast. Taking a couple of deep breath, Steven tightened his grip on the wheelbarrows handles and turned on his heel, rushing the mermaid the back way to his home. It took a little longer, but it was out of sight. Thank goodness his father valued his privacy and enjoyed living away from the town.

Steven's home was a small wooden cottage on the other side of a large hill, standing just walking distance from the forests entrance that led out towards the neighboring town. Steven didn't realize how fast he had been running until he finally stopped in front of his door, panting for breath. The pressure of avoiding detection had him more panicked than he thought it would. Without missing a beat, Steven burst open his front door and wheeled her inside, swiftly removing the junk and curtains he had stacked on top of her. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, trying to keep up with her haggard, fast gasps for breath.

He didn't have the time to be too careful with her. Reaching down, he lifted her into his arms and hurried into the washroom. Placing the mermaid into the bathtub, he turned the nozzle up as far as it would go. She had been deprived of water for who knows how long. Hopefully this would help to ease her pain. Once the tub was full, Steven felt a bit more relaxed.

"...why are you doing this...?" The mermaid asked now, barely glancing at him, her head resting against the edge of the tub, still too weak to do much of anything.

Steven was taken aback once again. She had been silent for so long that he kept forgetting she could speak.

"Ah-um—-I couldn't just leave you there." He answered, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. It was the truth. His reasoning didn't run much deeper than wanting to help someone in need.

"You're an idiot," she stated simply, looking away from him and staring at the wall absently. The water felt so nice. She could already feel her energy returning to her.

"...once they figure out you took me, they'll put you on trial for treason."

"I...am aware of that." Replied Steven with a sad smile. "...but I've never been able to watch as someone suffers. You're not some sideshow."

The mermaid shifted herself in the tub, leaning her chin in her hand as she stared up at Steven from the side of the tub. "If this is a trick, it's a dumb one. I don't trust humans."

"Well, I've never been good at tricking people," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. He didn't blame her at all for her distrust. Humans hunted mermaids for status after all. Why should she trust anyone on land?

"Still, it doesn't matter if you trust me. I'm still going to help," Steven said with a smile, reaching over and taking the mermaids hand, sadly looking down at her swollen, bruised wrists. He then walked to a small cabinet silently and pulled out a first-aid kit. Without saying another word, he sat himself down beside the bath and began to treat her wounds with a soothing salve to start.

The mermaid watched in cautious silence, allowing him to help her, even though it would have healed if she stayed in the water long enough. So maybe this human wasn't trying to trick her, but that didn't erase everything his people had done.

"...what was your name again?"

"Steven, Steven Universe. What's yours?"

For a moment, she wasn't sure about answering him, but with everything he was doing, he deserved at least that much, right?

"...Spinel." she answered finally.

"Spinel? That's a really pretty name," Steven replied with a grin, just finishing up the wrappings around her wrist to keep the cuts from bleeding out. With her wounds cleaned and bandaged, he took her hand and brought her wrist to his lips, kissing over the bandage very carefully. "All done," he announced happily.

Spinel felt her cheeks start to burn. Slowly, she pulled her arms back to herself, staring suspiciously at Steven the entire time. This human was strange. Did he really just want to help her?

"...thanks..." she mumbled begrudgingly, sinking into the water slightly to hide her bashful expression.

Steven stood up and smiled, finding it rather cute how confused and embarrassed she was.

However, the two didn't get a lot of time to relax before a loud banging came from the front door, startling the both of them.

Spinel readied herself, summoning a large Scythe into her hands, causing Steven to jump.

"Wh-how--Put that away!" Steven stammered in a hushed voice. "We're not fighting anyone!"

"Speak for yourself!" Spinel hissed. "I'm not letting them take me again."

Steven knew he couldn't argue with her over defending herself, but he would prefer to solve this peacefully.

"Just-just don't do anything yet," he pleaded quietly as he edged towards the the door. "I'll go see who it is first."

Spinel growled in her throat. It's not like she had much choice. The reason mermaids had a hard time escaping once caught, was because they were all but useless on land. It's why many of her friends never came home.

Steven stood in front of his homes entrance now, trying to calm himself with some deep breaths. It was a good sign that the visitor wasn't continuously knocking or trying to break the door down. Finally, he creaked open the door and was extremely relieved when he saw Connie standing there. "Oh, it's you, Connie," he greeted, allowing himself to exhale the breath he had been holding.

Connie didn't greet him in return. Instead, she pushed her way past him into the house and started looking around with purpose.

"uh…C-Connie?" he began, shutting the door quickly.

"Where is she?" demanded the young girl.

Steven wasn't sure how Connie could have possibly known what he had done.  
"How…?"

"My dad is head of security for the town! He got word that **someone** took the mermaid, but they are trying to keep it quiet. I also heard that **you **were the last one to be seen with her. I'd have to be an idiot to not connect the dots! I had to lie to my father and tell him that I saw you near the beach."

He felt bad that she had to lie for him, but it bought them more time.  
"Thank—"

"We don't have time for that," Connie insisted. Though she was proud of Steven for what he had done, she couldn't help but feel a painful pit form in her stomach. She knew what this meant. Steven had to leave. If they caught him, he'd be seen as a traitor and taken away.  
"Since everyone is looking for you by the water, I was able to sneak a few things out of my mother's clinic. You'll stand out too much with that wheelbarrow. I brought you a wheelchair and few of my old dresses. You can try to disguise her, but…"

"Connie…I'm sorry. I couldn't just leave her there." Steven said quietly, knowing this was the last time they would see one another.

Connie stifled her tears and smiled instead. "Hey, justice is more important than a peaceful life," she insisted, doing her best to be brave about this.  
"Look, I heard rumors about a woman a few towns over. They say she helps mermaids that end up on land. I don't know how she helps or if it's even true, but it's your best bet. Once they decide to announce this publicly, there will be guards near every shore to try and catch you."

"R-right." Steven nodded, trying to take this all in. His impulsive decision was derailing his entire life, but what was he supposed to do?

Connie could see that Steven was a little frozen, no doubt overwhelmed by the situation now. She couldn't exactly blame him. However, if they didn't hurry, she would lose her best friend and his efforts would come to nothing. "Steven!" she called out abruptly to get his attention. "Go pack a bag and some food. I'll keep watch until you gather your things."

"Okay, yeah, I'll be right back!" he replied hastily, dashing away for his bedroom to get his things together.

Connie glanced towards the washroom. Surely the mermaid was in there. Where else would you put someone that needed to sit in water? Walking into the bathroom, Connie was met with a rather hostile looking Mermaid holding a large pink Scythe. She certainly didn't expect the weapon, but she still couldn't help but smile. This was her first time seeing a mermaid and she was gorgeous.  
"My gosh! You're even prettier than the pictures in my books!" Connie exclaimed.

Spinel raised a brow. Another strange human, huh?  
"…You're…?"

"I'm Steven's friend, Connie. I'm here to help." She greeted, looking the mermaid over carefully. Steven rushed in with his pack strapped to his back. Glad to see that Spinel had not cut Connie up. "Good. I'll go and get everything; you get her out of the bath." Connie stated as she headed for the door once more.

"What's going on?" Spinel asked, dismissing her scythe in a brief stream of light as Steven approached the tub.

"We have to get out of here. I know I said I would get you to the water, but that's the first place they will be looking for us. We have to get as far from the water as possible now." Steven explained while he scooped her from the water and carried her towards the front door where Connie was waiting with the wheelchair.

"Wait, even further from the water?" Spinel asked in a panic. She didn't want to go through that again.

"If you go through the forest, there are lakes and ponds. You won't have to go completely without, but the last thing they will suspect is a mermaid traveling **away **from the water. It's the safest route for the two of you." Connie added as she pulled a blanket from her bag. Once Steven placed Spinel in the chair, Connie set to work on concealing Spinel as best she could. She placed the blanket over her lap and handed her a black cloak wear over her shoulders. "Put this on for now, but when you two get a moment to rest, put this dress on. The more you can cover your scales the better."

Spinel was little lost in the flow of this. These humans seemed determined to help her escape, which simply threw her for a loop. This Steven boy was essentially becoming a traitor. He'd never be welcome by humans again. Why go so far for someone you didn't know? She watched in stunned silence as Connie handed Steven an old book with several loose papers sticking out from its pages.

"I drew a small map and wrote down a few things you might need to know, I'm sorry it was so rushed, but when I heard about this, I didn't have a lot of time…" Connie's voice trailed off as tears began to slip from her eyes. Now that it was that much closer to goodbye, she couldn't stop them. Steven was important to her and now…she might never see him again.

Steven placed his hands on Connie's shoulders and did his best to smile for her.  
"You've done more than enough. Thank you…"

Letting her tears flow freely now, Connie leaned in against Steven's chest and hugged him tight.  
"Don't get caught," she choked out. "…I'll do everything I can to buy you a little more time. Make sure to rest and eat properly. I know how you push yourself…"

Steven returned her embrace, his own tears threatening to escape. He never thought he would be leaving like this.  
"…Goodbye, Connie…" he said softly despite the lump in his throat.

"No." Connie insisted, pulling back and wiping her eyes. "I'll see you later, Steven Universe."

With a tearful smile, Steven nodded his head, rubbing the tears from his eyes as well.  
"Yeah, I'll see you later."

Not wanting to drag this out any further, Connie urged Steven to hurry along. With one last glance, he pushed Spinel forward and left the house he had grown up in, heading quickly for the forests entrance. Connie watched his back get further and further away until it was gone completely, vanishing from her sight into the maze of trees. Her vision blurred terribly as she stared off into the distance, her tears flooding her eyes once they were gone. Standing in his doorway, Connie allowed herself to sob openly now. Her tears gushed down her cheeks to puddle at her feet as she recalled when she and Steven had first met. There were so many other things she had wanted to say to him, but now she'd have to keep those words bottled away.  
"…You did a good thing…" Connie sobbed as she smiled through her tears. "You always do good things…"


	3. Other Mermaids?

A couple hours had gone by since they entered the forest. Both Steven and Spinel had been silent, anxiously waiting for something awful to happen, but it seemed for now, they weren't being pursued. Connie’s plan to throw off the townspeople must have worked well enough to give them a good head start. Besides, it was like she said, who would think a mermaid would want to trek through the forest rather travel near the ocean?

"How are you feeling?" Asked Steven finally, leaning over a bit to try and see her face as he pushed her along the narrow dirt path.

Spinel had been spending these last couple of hours trying to wrack her brain for some explanation. There had to be some other reason Steven was doing this. He was an enemy to his people now. He couldn't be doing this for nothing. No human did something for nothing. That much she was sure of.

"...you know..." she began; disregarding his questions altogether, "I don't grant wishes or anything. That's a myth."

"Oh? I bet Connie would be interested in knowing that. It's a shame she didn't get to speak with you more. She had a lot of questions about mermaids..." Steven replied. He still hoped he and Connie would see one another again. She would be happy to ask Spinel everything she had been curious about her entire life.

"Hey, she once mentioned that each mermaid has one special skill or purpose. Is that true?"

Spinel appeared flummoxed now. So he wasn't after wishes either? Was he really like this, or just really good at playing dumb?

"...yeah, that's true."

Steven beamed, "so what's yours?"

Spinel blushed and cleared her throat, "I'd rather not say."

"Oh..." a clearly disappointed Steven sighed.

Glancing back, Spinel could see how dejected he looked and quickly turned her gaze away. Everything showed on his face and Spinel was a little confused as to why she felt bad for not giving him an answer.

"...one of my old friends, her trait was creation. She could create weapons, tools, and small structures."

His mood sprung back at once. "That's amazing!"

Spinel smirked slightly, "yeah. She made my weapon...and everyone else's. She really enjoys making new things, but it takes a lot of energy. Sometimes she makes herself sick."

"She sounds like a stubborn person, but I'd like to meet her," Steven mused. "Do you have a lot of friends back home?"

Spinel had enjoyed reminiscing about her friend, but Stevens question had brought her right back to reality. The reality that reminded her of how awful humans were.

"I have...a handful of friends back home. There used to be a lot more...before the war..."

Steven felt as though he'd stepped on a land mine. He had nearly forgotten about the war. After all, it happened long before he was born and had been over for thousands of years. Suddenly, he stopped walking when a thought occurred to him.

"Wait-you were a part of that war?!"

"...well, not as much as the others were...but, yes." She didn't want to say that her trait was next to useless in a fight.

"But...then that would make you..." Steven started, attempting to do the math in his head.

"I'm over six thousand years old." Spinel answered before he could finish.

Steven was completely thrown. He knew Mermaids lived long lives, but at most, he was thinking a few hundred years.

He looked down and Spinel and almost laughed at the prospect of her being thousands of years old.

"Well, you look great for someone your age." He joked, continuing to push her chair through the trees.

"Six thousand is actually pretty young for my kind..." she added with a pout, thinking Steven perceived her as some old lady now.

"Heh, well that must be why you're so pretty."

Spinel felt her cheeks burn once again. He was so loose with his compliments. Did he not feel foolish saying things like that? A human finding a mermaid beautiful or anything near it was strange. Even his friend Connie had complimented her like that. "You're weird."

"So I've been told," Steven chuckled.

Even though they were basically on the run for their lives, Steven couldn't help but find this pleasant. At least Spinel was speaking to him now and though she often seemed to be angry with him, there were moments when her eyes softened and it warmed his heart.

After walking for hours, Steven tried to find a place where they could rest a moment. The forest was dense, but he had to be doubly cautious. Though he found a place for them to hide, it happened to be behind several berry bushes, ones that were covered in large, sharp thorns.

"This is perfect. We can make camp here." Steven announced.

Spinel gawked at the thorns and once again thought there was something wrong with him. "You can't be serious, how are we gonna get through—Hey!" Before she could continue, Steven had already scooped her up from the chair, holding her high enough that she wouldn't touch the thorns.

"H-hey, wait a second, you're gonna get all cut up! Don't just—"

"—if you don't stop yelling, someone is going to hear you," Steven insisted as he pushed through the thorny bushes, doing his best to keep Spinel out of harm’s way. Though he winced a bit as the thorns snagged at his clothes and slit his skin, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Once he made it through the first patch of bushes, there was a small clearing in the middle. "See? It's perfect. And it's like we have a little barrier around us. Hopefully that will keep the animals away." Steven placed Spinel down onto the grass. "Now, just wait here. I'll go get our things and look for some water. ...I guess I'll also need to get some firewood. Huh, I wonder if I can actually manage to start a fire without matches," he joked before taking a step to head back through the bushes.

Steven’s words repeated in her head. Wait here? "NO!" She screamed out, apparently alarming a few birds that were nestled up in the trees around them.

Steven nearly jumped, turning back to Spinel. "Wha...are you okay?"

Spinel quickly turned her head and hugged her tail as she sat against the grass.

"I-I'm fine. Just hurry and-and try not to get too cut up."

Clearly she was lying, but he did have to get firewood and water before it got too dark to see. "I'll be back as soon as I can. ...just...don't worry, okay?" Steven reassured her before reluctantly making his way back through the bushes.

Spinel glanced in the direction where Steven had wandered off and she started to feel herself begin to tremble.

"Stop it..." she whispered to herself, hugging her tail tighter as she closed her eyes. Rocking herself lightly, Spinel waiting in silence, the only sound around her was her heavy breathing as she tried to calm herself down. The silence of the forest was only making it worse.

How long was this going to take? How long was she going to have to wait here alone? Even when she was being held Captive on that ship, she was never alone. Suddenly, she felt a cold hand graze her cheek and a distorted voice whispering, "Why don't we play a game?"

With a start, Spinel gasped and snapped her head up, expecting to see someone there, but was met with only the dense Forest around her. She sighed, covering her face in her hands, doing her best to block out the memories, luckily for her, that's when Steven came pushing through the bushes once again. How much time had gone by? He was holding up the wheelchair with one hand, all of their supplies in its seat, and in the other hand, he appeared to have found some water that he stored in the only empty container they had.

"Sorry, it took a while to find some water," he explained as he set everything down. He was so fixated on keeping everything from falling, he didn't notice Spinels expression right away, but now that he got a better look...

"What happened?!" Steven exclaimed in a panic, quickly dropping to his knees to inspect her before looking around them. She looked terrified. Had someone come while he was away?

Spinel wasn't fully aware of the face she had been making, but when she saw Steven there, she just stared at him in stunned silence.

"I...I'm fine," she answered finally. "You should be more worried about yourself," Spinel insisted once she saw his torn shirt and the cuts along his skin.

Steven was not deflected by her concern, but so long they weren't in immediate danger, he decided not to press her about it. He knew she had many reasons to be closed off, he just hoped that soon she would be able to trust him.

"This is fine. I'm a fast healer," he replied, reaching over and pulling the water jug towards her.

"So...I don't know if you can just drink it, or if you need to just uh...pour it on you, but this was the best I could do for now." He finished awkwardly.

Spinel still felt a little shaken, but Steven was trying so hard, she felt bad for being so rude. “…Thank you,” she said with a sincere smile.

Steven’s heart jumped lightly when he saw the warm, soft expression in her eyes. She really was beautiful. Clearing his throat, he got to his feet, “Y-you’re welcome. I should uh…see if I can start a fire.” He was actually worried that he wouldn’t be able to start one. He’d never started one without any matches and he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Spinel. After all, he promised to save her and how much faith would she have in a guy that couldn’t even start a fire?

Spinel drank some of the water as she watched Steven gather the firewood he had collected. She knew there a lot of terrible humans, but how many of them were like Steven? He must have been the only one. He had to be.   
“…Well if **you** can’t start one, I definitely can’t,” Spinel tried to joke.

Steven laughed as he piled up the wood, “I guess there aren’t many fires in the ocean, huh?”

“Not so much,” Spinel replied, giggling a bit despite her attempt to keep her guard up.

Steven was once again taken aback. His grin widened. Maybe she was warming up a little sooner than he thought. The atmosphere felt much lighter and even though it took Steven more tries than he would have liked, he was finally able to start the fire just in time for the sun to go down.

“Well, what do you know, looks like I **can **start a fire. …after…seven or eight attempts….” He trailed off, taking the blanket and Connie’s book from the supplies they had. He handed the blanket to Spinel and sat in front of the fire with Connie’s book. Not only was it an old book about mermaids, (that Connie had no doubt gotten at some antique store,) but Connie had stuffed a lot of notes inside of it, most of which she had clearly written in a hurry. Steven smiled sadly. He could just imagine his friend frantically trying to write down everything she knew that might help them. She did so much for them in such a short time. Slowly flipping through Connie’s notes, he saw the map that Connie mentioned. It was pretty messily drawn and the notes around it didn’t make much sense. She must have only written down some key words. Steven read them aloud, hoping that would help him make sense of it. “Underground. Capital. Experimental. Peridot. …I’m not sure how these go together.”

“Did you say…Peridot?” Spinel asked, scooting herself a little closer to Steven, trying to take a peek at the book.

Steven lowered the book and closed the distance between them. It was harder for Spinel to move on the ground, so he wanted to make it easier if he could. “Yeah, in these notes that Connie wrote down. She said the woman that might be able to help us is a couple of towns over. She drew this map, but she doesn’t mention a name, just these random words around the map.”

“Peridot **IS **a name!” Spinel exclaimed with an excited smile. “Does it mention her anywhere else?!”

Steven felt a little pressured now, thumbing through Connie’s notes as quickly as he could.   
“uuuuh…oh! Right here!” He pulled out a piece of paper that was surely crumpled up before, but had been smoothed out. Again, it was a bunch words that didn’t seem to connect. Once again, he read them aloud, this time for Spinel who was practically digging her fingers into his arm in anticipation.   
“Peridot. Lost. Capital. Off Color. Legend. Lapis.”

Spinel stared at the notes, nearly hugging Steven’s arm now. Her heart was racing. After all these years, she didn’t think she would hear those names ever again. Peridot could have been a mistake, but when she heard the name Lapis in there too, there wasn’t any doubt.

“They could still be alive…” Spinel whispered.

“What?”

“My friends! Peridot and Lapis Lazuli! Those names are names of Mermaids that disappeared a long time ago! Your friend can’t be more than, what, 15 years old?! If she heard about them in her lifetime, there’s a chance that they’re still alive!”

This was the first time that Steven had seen Spinel so genuinely happy and hopeful.  
“Well, Peridot’s name was written on that map that Connie drew down. Maybe that means we can find more information about her when we find that mystery woman.” Steven suggested, doing hoping to add to her new mood.

“I hope so…” she whispered with a smile. “Lapis was caught by humans during the war. Peridot was her mate. After the war ended, we thought the humans had killed Lapis, but Peridot insisted she was alive and said she wouldn’t stop until she found her. …When Peridot never came back…we assumed the humans had caught and killed her too…” Spinel explained sadly. “…but if their names are still known to humans, maybe…there’s some hope.”

“All mermaids are taken to the capital for the royal family. No one really knows what they do with them there. …So you never know. I we can find your friends, we can get you guys home together.” Steven added with a smile.

“You’re strong, Steven, but I don’t think even **you** can carry three mermaids on your shoulders while running from the entire royal army.” It was meant to be a joke, but when Spinel looked at his face, he wasn’t laughing. Instead, it almost appeared that he had stars in his eyes as he stared at her.

“You said my name,” he stated.

“Huh? Well…yeah?”

“Up until now you’ve only said ‘you’ or ‘idiot.’ This is the first time you said my name.” He explained further, overjoyed by this outcome. They had taken so many steps today. “Does this mean you trust me a little?” He asked, mostly to tease her.

Spinel blushed, just now realizing that she was still holding his arm. Removing her hands, she hugged her tail to herself in an attempt to hide her face. “J-just get some sleep so we can get to that mystery woman. We’ll sleep in shifts…so I’ll take the first watch.”

The grin didn’t leave Steven’s face, but he didn’t want to push his luck, instead, he leaned over and kissed Spinel on the cheek before laying himself down on the grass.   
“You’re the boss,” he replied as he closed his eyes with a smile.

Spinel sat there, completely shocked still. She brought her hand to her cheek, feeling the heat from her flushed face. “Y-You—“ Spinel stammered in embarrassment, while Steven simple chuckled happily.


	4. An Off Colored Hand

As Dawn broke, the suns light peeked through the cover of the trees, hitting Steven’s face and forcing him awake. He was about to sit when he felt something pressing down on his chest. It was Spinel. The mermaid had somehow made her way over to him in the middle of the night, perhaps to share the blanket that he’d given her? She was resting her head against his chest; their bodies rather close with the blanket draped over both of them. Steven stared down at her, unable to keep the blush from his cheeks. She must have been facing him before falling asleep, because he could clearly see her face. He called her beautiful when he first saw her and commented rather easily on her looks since then, but now he felt a little embarrassed about it. Seeing her sleeping face, he was reminded once again, just how lovely she was. Were all mermaids like this?

He didn’t want to disturb her sleep if he didn’t have to. Instead, he looked around their little camp. The fire had long since died out and though Spinel said they would take shifts on keeping watch, but she had clearly fallen asleep rather than waking him for his shift. That was a little dangerous, but at least no one had come looking for them that night.

“Spinel…” Steven began quietly, gently shaking her shoulder.

The mermaid shifted lightly in her sleep, her eyes fluttering open to see Steven looking down at her with a smile. At first, Spinel was confused, until she heard his heart beating against her ear. She was laying on his chest? Quickly pushing herself from him with reddened cheeks. 

“Good morning,” Steven chuckled. “Did you sleep well?”

Spinel panicked internally, trying to remember how this happened. Mermaids didn’t usually have to sleep much, but being out of the water made her weak. Though she had hoped to keep the first watch last night, she remembered feeling more tired than usual. She’d felt bad for using the only blanket on her own, so she dragged herself to Steven’s side and was in the process of placing the blanket over him until she noticed the peaceful expression on his face while he slept. Smiling just a bit, Spinel leaned over to get a better look. After a moment, she found herself resting her head against his chest as she watched him sleep, being slowly lulled to sleep by the calming sound of his heartbeat.   
The mermaid covered her cheeks in a bashful panic. How had she let herself get so close? She never thought she’d feel so calm and comfortable around a human. Was it because he had helped her?

“U-Um yes—Good morning,” stammered Spinel, slapping her cheeks lightly to try and come to her senses.

Steven got to his with a smirk and started to gather their things. “We should hurry along. If that woman is in the next couple of towns, than we have a long way to go.” He explained, rolling the wheelchair over to her side.   
“Hopefully we will come across a lake or something on the way. It’s the middle of summer and I’m sure you’re not feeling well.”

Scooping Spinel up in his arms, Steven placed her in the wheelchair, put the blanket over her tail, and handed her the cloak so that she cover her fish-like features.

“…that’s true…” Spinel replied, no longer too embarrassed when Steven had to pick her up. After all, it’s not like she could walk on her own.   
“How long do you think it will take to get to that town mentioned on the map?”

“A couple of days, unless we can find a faster way to travel, but I don’t think we’re likely to hitch a ride with someone.”

Steven handed Spinel their bag of supplies and lifted the chair up over his head with her in it, startling Spinel once again. “Wh-whoa!! At least warn me before you do that!” Spinel exclaimed as she clung to the arms of the chair, not all too keen on heights.

Once they were back on the path, Steven set the chair down and set off through the woods again. Steven started to wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to simply travel at night. Surely it would be more comfortable for Spinel rather than trudging on through the heat of the day and they still had such a long way to go. Though it was unlikely, Steven hoped that he could find some faster way to get her where she needed to go.   
Hours went by peacefully, Spinel had actually fallen back to sleep in the chair, leading Steven to believe that she was weaker than she let on. How could she not be? She hadn’t been properly submerged in water in a while and she didn’t get much time in the tub before they had to run off. Drinking water probably helped a bit, but it could only do so much. As he rolled her along, Steven began to hear footsteps and immediately panicked. There was only one path through this forest, so unless he wanted to dart behind some more thorn bushes, he would have to remain as calm as possible. Luckily, Spinel was asleep because he worried she might try to fight rather than hide. Steadying his breath, Steven tightened his grip on the handles of the chair and pushed on, hoping he could pass Spinel off as just a sick human.

Preparing himself for the worst, Steven saw the stranger step out from a circle of trees and was relieved beyond words when what walked out looked to be a little girl. Though he did question what a little girl would be doing out here in the forest alone. These woods weren’t exactly safe with the crystal creatures that roamed around. As harmless as the little girl seemed, she appeared to be heading straight for them. Steven tried to pretend he didn’t notice her at all, but that was impossible once the child firmly placed herself in his path. Steven stopped, unsure how to handle this.   
“…Uh…excuse me? Could we…pass,” he asked awkwardly, glancing around and hoping she had parents nearby. Though he was starting to worry if she could even see him; the child’s bangs completely covered her eyes. What’s more, the girl had a dull orange color to her hair and what appeared to be some sort of jewel stuck to the top of her right hand. 

“You are going to meet someone new in the forest,” the little girl said with a smile.

A hushed whisper came from the trees, “who let her go out there alone?”

Steven was immediately alarmed upon hearing another voice. Were they trying to surround him? He was sure to be faster on his feet than if he were pushing a chair which might get stuck in a hole or something. Trying to remain calm, he released his grip on the chairs handles and readied himself to grab Spinel and run.

“Wait,” another hushed voice called out. This time, a head peeked out from the shadows of the trees. It was a woman. She had big dark eyes and red hair, waving a single hand as if beckoning Steven to follow her. “We’re here to help. Guards have entered the forest, follow us, we’ll get you out.”

Steven wasn’t sure whether or not to trust this woman. How did she even know they needed help? Could they tell Spinel was a Mermaid? He thought he had covered everything fish-like pretty well.   
“What makes you think we need help…?” asked Steven cautiously.

“You wouldn’t have entered this forest if you didn’t need help,” the woman whispered again. “Please, your mermaid friend won’t last much longer. Follow us.”

Looking down at Spinel, he could see her troubled expression just beneath the hood. She looked feverish again. It had to have been the heat. Though they were under the cover of the trees it was still the middle of summer and she was covered in a blanket of all things. Steven battled with himself on what to do, but when he began to hear more footsteps coming up the path, he lost the luxury of caution. Without losing any more time, he scooped Spinel from the chair and ran after the woman that had faded into the shadows of the trees. He could barely see the woman at first, until a small orange light appeared beside him. It was the little girl. She was running at his side and the gem on her hand was glowing gently. It wasn’t enough to completely light the way, but enough to see the path beneath his feet. This is why there was only one way through the forest. If anyone strayed from that main path, the forest became a maze and was completely devoid of light. It’s where the most dangerous creatures lived. There was no way the guards would follow them in here, right? Even Steven was questioning himself for following these people. They could just as easily leave him in the dark to die.   
Still, he continued to follow the orange light, he wasn’t sure how long they had been rushing through the trees until the darkness was suddenly parted by a soft light.

In front of him now, was a glittering lake, shining gently from the reflection of small blue orbs that hovered from the trees above. The light that reflected off the water was enough for Steven to get a better look at the woman he had been following. As it turned out, it was two women, just conjoined at the hip. They appeared to be twins, their bodies stuck together; sharing a single pair of legs and each torso only had one arm. Though Steven was a little alarmed, he simply stared at the women in silence, more concerned about why they led him to this place.   
“…You’re not going to hurt her,” he asked quietly, holding Spinel close.

“Of course not,” the girl on the left side answered. “We meant what we said; we just wanted to help you. Come, you should get her into the water. She needs to heal.” They walked over to the edge of the water and stepped back, giving Steven space so he would feel safer.

That much was true. Spinel was breathing heavily and she felt warm. He was sure that Mermaids were not supposed to be this hot to the touch. He removed her cloak and took the blanket from her tail before kneeling down at the edge of the lake.   
“Spinel…” Steven began softly, brushing the hair from her face in an attempt to wake her. He didn’t want to just plop her in the water without warning. When her eyes fluttered open slowly, he smiled down at her.   
“We’re near a lake. I’m going to put you in the water, okay?”

Spinel was having trouble breathing, but she seemed to understand him. She nodded her head slightly in reply and Steven slowly placed her into the water. He watched intently as she went under, worrying for a minute that he should have made sure she was more awake. Or perhaps she was too weak after all. Anxiously, he waited for her to resurface, but when the water remained still, he stood up to jump in after her.

“Hold on,” one of the twins urged as she placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“What if she needs—“

Before Steven could finish protesting, Spinel’s head surfaced slightly, and her magenta colored eyes shined brightly against dimly lit water. Steven didn’t think it was possible; she was even more captivating as she peered up at him from the water.

“Ar-Are you okay?” he asked in concern.

Spinel came up a little more, just enough for the water to come up to her shoulders. Smiling, she nodded her head, still feeling a little weak, but being completely submerged in water was a big help.   
“Yes. …who are these people…?” she asked, swimming up to the edge of the lake where Steven was kneeling.

Steven glanced behind him, unable to answer that question. This had all happened on a whim. He hadn’t had the chance to ask anyone their names.   
“We are the Rutile twins,” the conjoined women answered together. The twin on the right pointed to the child now, “and this is Padparadscha. She was the one who told us you had entered the forest. …although…her prediction was a little late, so we couldn’t get you until you had already been here for a while.”

“And why would you come to get us?” Spinel asked, not just worried for herself anymore. Steven also stood to be punished or even killed if they were caught by the wrong people. “Wait. Rutile…and Padparadscha,” Spinel repeated, “are those names…”

Padparadscha walked silently into the water without stopping. The gem on her hand began to glow again and the legs beneath her dress vanished in an orange light, replaced at once with the tail of a mermaid. Scales on her hands became visible and she moved her bangs to uncover a large, singular eye beneath them.   
Spinel and Steven stared silently at the child, amazed that she had gone from appearing human to becoming a mermaid before their eyes. Steven noted that Spinel seemed to be equally stunned by this. So it wasn’t just something mermaids could do.

“What is going on here,” Spinel asked as Padparadscha swam over to her with a smile. “How did she do that and who are you people?”

“Who are we?” rang a young man’s voice as he stepped out of the shadows and into the dim lighting from the lake. The young man had stretched earlobes, a wavy, light pink Mohawk at the top of his head, a scar that ran down over his right eye, and he wore a rather large black cloak that almost made him look like a pirate captain. Even with these odd features, the most noticeable thing about him was the bright pink hue of his skin.   
“We’re the Off Colors. I’m Captain Lars’ and we’re your only shot at getting out of this forest.”


	5. A Gem for a Mermaid

Steven and Spinel stared up at Lars as he introduced himself. This was all a little much. Spinel had never heard of Mermaids walking around on land like that. Though admittedly, she had been alone for a long time. What if some of them found a way and she just didn’t know about it? Still, it wasn’t in her nature to trust anyone right away. At least not anymore.

“Now what I’m interested in, is you two,” Lars continued, walking over to Steven and Spinel, kneeling down so that he was eye level with both of them. “We’ve seen mermaids all over the place, but this is the first time we’ve seen one with a human. So tell me, were you trying to help this mermaid, or were you planning on selling her to the highest bidder?”

“Wh-of course I wasn’t going to sell her!” Steven insisted, gripping Spinel’s hand a bit. “I’m trying to get her home.”

“Well you picked a hell of a complicated good deed, kid. Getting a mermaid back to the ocean is much harder than you think.” Lars stood up and looked back at the Rutile twins. They nodded and waved down Padparadscha to get out of the water. Without a word, the small Mermaid lifting herself onto the shore and once her tail was out of the water, it separated into two legs. Her fish-like features had vanished, leaving her to look like a human child once again as she followed after Rutile back into the dark of the woods.

“I promised her I would get her home. So that’s what I’m going to do,” Steven said evenly.

“What exactly is going on here?” Spinel asked finally, getting a little impatient with all the questions she had. “How did that mermaid grow legs? Are you all Mermaids that just look human?”

“Not all of us. I’m human. Well, mostly human. My life was saved by a mermaid once and as a result, I look like this,” Lars explained while gesturing to his pink skin and hair. “Though it’s not without its perks,” he admitted with a shrug. “You’re right though, the rest of us are all Mermaids that just happen to look human. Well…mostly human.”

“What about those girls…the ones with one pair of legs. I’ve never seen a Mermaid like that,” spinel remarked. She was sure it sounded rude, but she wanted to make sure and ask while they weren’t here.

“The twins? Oh, well…that’s a long story and not really one for me to tell, but I promise you they’re harmless. At least to you. Now, if you want to know how they make themselves look human, why don’t you join us all back at our little hideout. Even if it would be hard to get here for a human, staying around any body of water is pretty dangerous when hiding Mermaids. It’s the first place they look.”

Spinel wasn’t so sure. She was reluctant to leave the water after so long and it wasn’t just herself she was worried about anymore. Technically, Steven was a traitor to his people now. Anyone who caught him would get a big reward as well. She looked up at Steven, “what do you think, can we trust them?”

Steven smiled and released her hand to extend his arms towards her, “I’ll do whatever you think is best, but I don’t think they plan to hurt us.”

Spinel blushed and glanced away as she held out her arms as well, waiting bashfully for him to lift her from the water. She hated this. It made her feel like a child being picked up by a parent. “Fine…but if it turns out we have to fight, I’m not stopping just because you say so.”

With that, Steven held Spinel up from the water and turned to Lars, allowing him to lead them back into the dark of the forest. Lars didn’t seem to have a jewel like the others, so he lit their way with a small handheld crystal. They walked for quite some time before reaching another small clearing, but despite Lars’ announcement that they had arrived, Steven and Spinel couldn’t help but notice that there was nothing in this small field. Even so, Lars urged them to follow him further.

“Open it up,” Lars ordered with a smile, speaking into something attached to his rather large collar. It wasn’t long after that, a large door opened up, revealing that the empty space was just an illusion to hide a small dome that already had several tents set up inside of it. The twins and Padparadscha were headed into one of the larger tents and it’s to that tent that Lars led them.   
“So, what’re your names?” Lars asked, sitting himself in a chair while two more were being placed down by the twins for Steven and Spinel.

“My name is Steven,” he replied as he placed Spinel down into a chair carefully, deciding he would rather stand beside her chair rather than sit in his own. That way, he’d be ready to grab her and run if something happened.

“……I’m Spinel,” she answered finally.

“Spinel,” Lars repeated, “that’s a bit rare, but I’m sure we can find it.”

“What?” asked Spinel, completely confused now.

“You wanted to know how they can walk around like humans. Well this is how,” Lars began to explain, pointing to Rutile twins and the conjoined gem over their stomach. Turns out, it’s not a coincidence that Mermaids are named after precious stones and metals you can find all over the globe. If you infuse those stones with a bit of magic, Mermaids can take on human form and walk on land and when back in the water, they revert to mermaids without any effort.”

“So…if I had one of those, I could walk on my own?” asked Spinel hopefully. This way, she wouldn’t need to burden Steven with constantly carrying her around and she wouldn’t be so helpless when and if they ran into any trouble.

Lars nodded, “yeah, but it’s not without its drawbacks. Once the gem fuses with your body, it becomes a part of you. It will give you the advantage of walking on land, but in return, you will become a bit more human. You’ll need to eat and sleep when you have legs. It also will become your biggest weakness.”

“Weakness?” reapeted Steven in concern. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“A mermaid can withstand a lot of beatings, but Gems can’t. Once the Gem infuses into your body, it will be thing you have to protect the most, because if that Gem shatters or gets broken…you’ll die with it,” the right Rutile twin explained. “The problem is also…you don’t get to choose where the Gem is exposed. It vanishes into your body and surfaces where it feels it belongs. …and the process of infusing your body with a Gem is terribly painful.”

“So it’s basically like putting a target on her?!” asked Steven incredulously. “People already want to hurt her just for being a Mermaid.”

“That’s right,” answered Lars. “Also, though this will be a disguise to the general populace, the royal capital and guards are well aware of the Gems. So if they catch you, they will know exactly how to kill you. There’s also the problem that you can’t completely cover the gem. In a sense, it needs to breath. You can cover most of it, but not the whole things or you’ll be very uncomfortable.”

“This doesn’t sound like it would help too much,” Steven insisted, too reluctant to put an easily broken target on Spinel. Especially when they had no idea where that target would be on her.

“I know it might sound bad at first, but it really is the best way to avoid being caught by humans,” the left twin urged. “We just needed to tell you the downside first so you could make an informed choice. We’ve helped a lot of other Mermaids by giving them these. Some of them are living as humans in hiding thanks to these.”

Spinel didn’t like all of it, but the biggest selling point was that she could make herself a bit more useful. Having a fish tail on land wasn’t going to get them anywhere. If anything, it was just going to get them killed sooner or later. Steven was strong, but if he had to carry her during her a fight, they’d both end up on the ground. “I’ll take it,” she said finally.

“Wha-are you sure?” asked Steven anxiously. “She said it was painful and what if the Gem ends up somewhere too noticeable?”

“We’ll cover way more ground if I can walk with you. Also, we can travel on the main roads since people will think I’m human. It’s too beneficial to pass up. I can deal with a little pain if it means I won’t be a burden.”

Steven was still concerned, “does every mermaid you come across take a gem? Have you ever seen a gem get shattered?”

“Not every mermaid takes the offer. They said taking the form of a human was disgusting, but they didn’t last long on their own,” answered Lars, “and I have only seen one Mermaid die when their gem was shattered. It’s…not a pretty sight. Still, we know this is the best tool for a mermaid’s survival. It’s why we do what we do. Our Benefactors acquires these gems and sends us out all over the place to offer them to any Mermaid we catch wind of.”

“and who are your benefactors?” asked Spinel.

“You may have already heard rumors about them. A small group of Mermaids that are organizing an underground resistance against the royal capital,” the right Rutile twin replied. “We can’t give too much information about them, but the one that we work with directly is named Peridot. She brings us the gems that they’ve mixed with the magic we need to make them useful.”

“Peridot,” Spinel repeated with an excited smile. “I-I know her! Can I see her?!”

“She’s not here, but she’ll show up to give us your gem if you accept it. She’s the one in charge of the procedure,” answered Lars.

“I’ll take a Gem. I don’t see much of a downside,” Spinel announced with more determination than before. She’d get an advantage on land and a chance to see a friend that she’d presumed dead for centuries.

Lars smiled, “Good to hear. We’ll get you a place to sleep and send word to our friends. Outside the tent, Rhodonite will take you to your own tent and get you some water. I’ll let you know when we hear back from Peridot.”

Spinel nodded and a still unconvinced Steven scooped her up with concerned groan. He didn’t think these people were going to hurt them, but this Gem deal left a painful pit in his stomach. Spinel seemed excited about it now, but he didn’t know if that was a good thing. When Steven and Spinel were out of the tent, the Rutile twins turned to Lars.

“What do you think, Captain? Can we trust them? This is the first time we’ve gotten another human involved. Is it safe for him to hear so much about our plans?”

Lars stared at the chair Spinel had been sitting in, thinking for a moment before he replied, “we’ll keep an eye on the human kid. There’s something about him that I want to confirm.”

The Rutile twins laughed lightly together, “You called him a human as if you’re not a human yourself. That’s a bad habit, Captain.”

“Come on guys,” Lars started with a sigh, “you know I haven’t felt like a human in over one thousand years.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry about the small chapter. I'll have more time to write when my work load FINALLY gets smaller in the next few days.


	6. Thank You

Spinel and Steven had settled in the tent that was set up for them. Their supplies had been brought from the lake and Spinel was sitting in this small inflatable pool that they had given them. It must have been how the other mermaids handled being on land like this.

“These are pretty convenient,” Spinel commented as she laid herself back in the shallow water.

Though Spinel seemed content, Steven couldn’t quite calm down. These people didn’t seem bad at all, but he had a sinking feeling about these Gems they spoke of. Pacing the floor of the tent, he tried to think of some way to talk Spinel out of it.

“You don’t have to worry so much. If this is something Peridot came up with, I’m sure it’s not as bad as they described it.”

“They said it’s like a big target,” Steven replied. “If that Gem happens to break, you’ll die. Doesn’t that scare you?”

Spinel sat up, her tail swishing lightly against the water.   
“I guess…it’s a little worrisome, but what’s the alternative? You can’t just carry me all over the place. It will make travel so much easier if I can walk too. I think it’s worth the risk.”

“…if you say so,” Steven replied with a long sigh. His main concern had been Spinel’s safety all this time. He just wanted to make sure she remained unharmed during this journey, but Lars was right, he hadn’t thought this completely through. He didn’t think about all the security they had near the shores or the ships they had out in the water to watch for Mermaids. In his small little beach village, they didn’t get much mainstream news. Spinel coming to town was the biggest thing to happen there in a long time and the only reason they used that harbor was because the ship couldn’t travel further in with the supplies they had.   
“…Well, they said it might take Peridot a little while to get here. …were you two close?”

Spinel flinched lightly, she only just now thought about it, but what if Peridot wasn’t happy to see her?   
“…Not too close. She was a part of a different tribe, but when everyone joined together for the war, that’s when I met her and Lapis.”

“If you two weren’t that close…how do you know this Gem thing of hers is really a good idea?”

“Why are you so against this?” asked Spinel. “I’m the one taking all the risk here.”

Steven’s cheeks burned lightly, “I’m just worried about you. They said the transformation into a human is pretty painful as well.”

Spinel stared up at Steven with a blank expression before she found herself stifling a laugh.

“It’s not funny,” Steven insisted, more embarrassed now than before, “I just don’t want you-“

“—No, no. I’m not laughing at you,” Spinel corrected with a smile and a wave of her hand, “it’s just, you’re the first one, human or mermaid that has shown so much loyalty so fast. I laughed because I was surprised at myself and because you’re still surprising me.” She finished with a giggle.

“…what do you mean,” asked Steven, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced away from her. Her cheerful expression only making the blush at his cheeks burn brighter.

“I believe I said it many times before, but you’re a strange one. You gave up your entire way of living for a complete stranger. You became a criminal…ensuring that you’ll never lead a normal life again…and you’re still just thinking about my safety. You’re a complete idiot…” Spinel muttered at the end.

Steven sighed and sat down beside the small pool she sat in, “You know…” he began, as if they were about to argue.

“...and I never thanked you for any of it,” continued Spinel quietly.

Surprised, Steven glanced at Spinel, who seemed rather embarrassed, hugging her tail close to her chest and averting her eyes from Steven, hoping he wouldn’t see her reddened cheeks.

“…So…even though I still think you made a stupid choice. ...I…want to thank you for making it.” Spinel finished, daring to turn her gaze towards Steven. He appeared dumbfounded by her words and said nothing in return.   
“I mean—it’s not much,” Spinel went on, feeling like a fool, “but I can’t offer you anything else. So—so my gratitude will have to do.”

Steven was honestly stunned to silence. He never expected Spinel to thank him so sincerely. At least, not this soon. He couldn’t help but smile, watching Spinel trying to hide her blushing face. She reminded him of a stray cat he once found. At first it would scratch and hiss at him, but it was so cute that he just couldn’t leave it alone.   
“Your gratitude is **more** than enough,” he replied finally, leaning over and wrapping his arms around Spinel’s shoulders as she continued to hug her tail. It seemed that they were finally becoming friends and Steven was overjoyed by the prospect.

Spinel was only able to make a small squeak as Steven hugged her, frozen in place over the shock of it. How long had it been since anyone hugged her so happily?

“Am I interrupting something?” asked Lars with a smirk as he stood at the entrance to their tent.

“Yes,” Steven joked while Spinel panicked and shook her head rapidly.

“Can we talk for a sec? I’d like to show you something,” continued Lars as he waved Steven over.

Though Steven let go of Spinel, he stayed in place sitting next to her. “You can’t talk to me here?” It wasn’t that he thought Lars was going to hurt Spinel. They’d done nothing but help them so far, he just didn’t really like leaving her alone.

“Go on,” Spinel insisted, eager for a chance to calm down on her own. “I’ll be fine as long as I’m in the water.”

Steven sighed a bit and got to his feet. He was still hesitant, but he didn’t want to be too overprotective. Lars smiled and led Steven from the tent, leaving a Spinel alone to watch their backs as they walked away. When she was sure they had gone, the mermaid brought both her hands to her cheeks, panicking internally as she held back the urge to scream. That was so embarrassing she didn’t know how to react properly. This human was honest, kind, and seemed completely unabashed when it came to showing affection. How was she supposed to deal with a human like that?

“You and that human seem rather close…” one of the Rutile twins commented as they stepped inside the tent, “…we wanted to ask you a few questions about him if you don’t mind…”

While Rutile was attempting to have a conversation with Spinel, Steven had followed Lars back to his tent, but while Lars said he wanted a word, he hadn’t said anything on the walk there.   
“So, what is that you wanted to talk about?” asked Steven finally, becoming a little impatient.

“You were pretty cut up by all those thorns in the woods before,” began Lars, “but the scratches I saw when you first got here are gone now.”

“…yeah? I’ve always been a pretty fast healer.”

“And carrying a mermaid? That’s an easy task for you? I was told you carried her all the way to the lake and I even watched you carry her to camp. A Mermaids tail is pure muscle you know. It makes them pretty heavy.”

“Did you ask me here to just state facts about me?”

“Do you know what they do at the Capital,” asked Lars, disregarding Stevens question. “They don’t capture Mermaids just to put them in a Zoo. They experiment on them.” 

Steven tensed up. People were experimenting on the Mermaids?   
“…how…”

“You saw one of the members of my crew, right? The Rutile twins. You may have noticed that they’re sort of _joined at the hip_. Well they weren’t always that way. They were just a pair of twin Mermaids that got caught before they were brought to the capital. I don’t know what the humans were trying to do, but the end result…was having the twins stuck together like that. That little Mermaid you saw? Padparadscha. She was also used as a learning tool for the humans. Her specific type of Mermaid are adapt at predicting the future. The humans were probably trying to extract that skill from her, but the experiments damaged her beyond repair. Now, the visions she sees are things that have already happened. As if she’s a few steps behind everyone in time.”

“…that’s…horrible…” Steven breathed out, unable to imagine going through something so awful. Who knows how long they were tortured at the hands of human beings.

“It is,” agreed Lars, “which is why I promised my crew they would never be caught or used by humans again.”

Steven suddenly realized where Lars was going with this and he deflated.   
“…I’m not gonna—“

“So here’s the thing,” Lars continued without allowing Steven to finish. “You should go back to your home. Tell the authorities that the Mermaid enchanted you or something. You’ll be questioned for a few days, but eventually they will let you go and everything will go back to normal for you. You won’t be a criminal anymore and we’ll even give you money for your trouble.”

“You guys may not trust me because I’m human, but I’m not going to leave Spinel alone,” insisted Steven.

“She won’t be alone. She’ll stay with us and her own kind. You won’t need to worry about her anymore.”

Steven thought for a moment. Would Spinel be happier that way? She did seem a lot more comfortable now that they found other Mermaids and an old friend was even on her way.   
“If Spinel doesn’t want me around, she can tell me that herself. Until then, I’m going to stick with her.”

Lars didn’t seem surprised by Steven’s reply; instead, he shrugged his shoulders with a sigh.   
“Fine, but it’s like you said, you’re a human. You’ve already seen a lot and if you keep traveling with Spinel, you’ll learn even more about the Mermaids that might potentially harm others if you suddenly decide it’s too much trouble. I don’t think you’re a bad kid, but there’s a lot at stake here. So, if you really want to keep going…I’m going to have to insist that you **prove **yourself.”

“Prove myself, how?”

“It’s going to sound a little extreme, but we don’t have any other way to make sure you won’t betray us,” began Lars, “it’s a spell, something like a contract. If you agree to it, there really won’t be a chance to turn back.”

Steven wasn’t sure what kind of spell this was going to be, but he was certain if he didn’t agree to it, Lars and his crew would most likely force him to leave Spinel somehow. “Fine, tell me what I have to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was so late. I got a little behind on my writing and stuff, but I'm slowly catching up. Thank you for your patience!


	7. Too Much

With Steven and Lars gone from the tent, Spinel was left with the Rutile twins, who had asked to speak with her.

“Do you honestly believe that human can be trusted?” asked the left Rutile twin, sitting themselves down beside the small, plastic pool that Spinel occupied.

“…” Spinel hesitated for a moment. If they had asked her this just a few days ago, the answer would be different for sure. However, Steven had gone through so much in order to keep her safe and he was asking for nothing in return. Though she hated to admit it about any human, Steven appeared to be sincere. “…I don’t know about trust exactly, but Steven is quite different from the humans I’ve met before.”

“A lot of Mermaids have said the same in the past and they have all since been betrayed.”

This struck a chord with Spinel. A chill ran up her spine and she suddenly felt cold.   
“What’s your point?” snapped Spinel, losing her patience now. She didn’t like remembering the past. It wasn’t just the memories that upset her, it was the fact that she actually felt the same bracing cold as back then every time she recalled it.

“Our point is just that. You don’t have to stay with the Human anymore. You can come with us and our captain. There’s no need to put your trust in a human that might betray you for a bag of gold. It might take us a little longer to get you home, but at least you won’t have to question our loyalty.”

Spinel listened silently, not surprised by the offer, but surprised that she was so reluctant to take it. The choice should have been easy. Between a human and her own kind, it shouldn’t have been a question who she could trust more. Still, Steven had done nothing to make her think he would betray her. He’d been kind. Too kind. Honestly, it reminded Spinel of how she used to be.   
“...I said I would accept your help when it came to offering a Gem, but…Steven made himself a criminal to help me. Leaving him alone now…would mean leaving him to face the consequences alone as well. It doesn’t seem right to-“

“—no need to say more,” the right Rutile twin interrupted with a small smile. “Our Captain just wanted to make sure that you two had all your options. Your Human is being offered a way back home as we speak. He’ll either take our Captains offer, return to his human life, or he’ll agree to a binding spell.”

Spinel felt her heart sink to her stomach. “A binding spell? Why go so far?!”

“You think we would allow him to see all this and just let him go? Even if he takes the gold and goes home, we have a plan for that too.”

Spinel wasn’t sure how to feel all of a sudden. If Steven took the chance to go home like he should have, she’d feel like a fool for saying she’d stay with him. If he ended up agreeing to take part in a binding spell, she’d want to hit him for being so stupid. “Is your Captain going to explain what that kind of contract can do? Because Steven might actually agree to something like that without knowing—“

“—he explained it all, don’t worry,” breathed Steven as he entered the tent. His face was flushed and dark circles plagued his tired eyes.

The moment she saw his haggard appearance, Spinel flared up, nearly spilling over the small pool as she leaned at the edge. “What did you do,” demanded Spinel, an awful mix of emotion surging inside her heart. A part of her was relieved that Steven had decided to stay with her, but she was angry he would choose to do something like this. This man was too kind for his own good.   
“You—you had a chance to go home and yet you bound yourself by contract with terms made by people you don’t know?! Why are you such an—“

“—yeah, I know, I’m an idiot…” sighed Steven with a tired smile. “…could you maybe yell at me about it after I take a nap? I’m a little tired…”

The Rutile twins seemed satisfied with how things had played out. They stood and helped Steven stagger to the blankets that were set up in the tent for him. Once he was lying on the blankets, she left a small bag beside him and turned for the door. “There are some sweets in that bag. You’ll need the sugar with all the blood you’ve lost. …if it means anything…we think you made the right choice,” said Rutile before leaving the tent so that Steven could rest.

Spinel stared helplessly at Steven as he did his best to breathe evenly, clearly uncomfortable. Was he in pain? She opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it and instead, lifted herself from the pool, swinging her tail over the side.

Steven glanced over while Spinel slowly scooted herself to his bedside.   
“What are you doing?” he asked quietly, making an attempt to sit up, only to be pushed back down as Spinel pressed her hand against his chest.

“Just lay down,” she insisted, looking him over for a moment before she grabbed the small bag Rutile had left and pulled out some of the chocolate inside. “Here…” she offered, holding the treat next to his mouth.

No matter how exhausted he was, Steven couldn’t help feeling nervous, his cheeks flushing as Spinel offered to feed him. “You don-“

“—just open your mouth,” demanded Spinel with a blush. It was humiliating enough without him mentioning it.

Still rather shocked she even offered this, he did as he was told and Spinel placed the piece of chocolate into his mouth.   
“…you didn’t have to go so far,” she began while Steven ate. “...it must have hurt. …and look at you, you’re completely exhausted.”

“It’s not as bad as it looks. I’m just tired,” replied Steven as Spinel slipped another piece of chocolate into his mouth.

“They went overboard,” she commented bitterly. “A binding spell doesn’t require enough blood to make you like this. That Captain clearly took more than they needed, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind when I see him again.”

Steven shook his head, “you shouldn’t say anything. They haven’t given you your Gem yet. …we still need their help. Besides, I’m a fast healer, remember?”

Even now, Steven was being too kind for his own good. It only served to make Spinel angrier at the Captain for so blatantly taking advantage of his good nature. Why was he like this? Why was he willing to go so far for someone like her? Was it simply because she was a mermaid? Would he do all this if she were just another human girl?   
“…when you feel up to it, you’ll tell me the terms of the contract, won’t you?”

Steven nodded his head slowly, feeling a little guilty that he had worried her like this. However, it was necessary if he wanted the Off Colors to help her and still allow him to stick with her. It’s not like he didn’t understand. Mermaids were in danger every day, of course they had to be careful who they trusted. Giving up a little blood was a small price to offer them peace of mind. Though he couldn’t call his motives completely selfless. He could have parted ways with Spinel here and she would probably be just fine with the Off Colors, surrounded by her own kind until she got back into the ocean water, but he wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet. 

Spinel watched as Steven drifted off, glad that he was breathing easier now and seemed able to rest comfortably. With a sigh, she reached over and pulled a loose blanket over him to make sure he didn’t get too cold. She still found his choices to be irrational and foolish, but she couldn’t help smiling just a little. He had been given a pass to go home without consequences. He could have rid himself of all this trouble and gone back to his life. It’s what he should have done. Anyone else would have. Yet he chose to stay with her. She shouldn’t have been happy about it. It was selfish of her to want him to remain a criminal and abandon everything for her, so why did it make her heart swell beneath her chest?

Though it would have been more comfortable to go back into the little pool, Spinel decided to stay beside Steven. What if he woke up and needed something? He was feeling like this because of her after all, the least she could do is make sure he was alright. She hugged her tail to her chest once more; resting her head against the bend of it as she stared down at Steven’s sleeping face.

As Spinel watched over Steven, Rutile was back in the Captains tent, also finding herself curious over the amount of blood that had been taken from Steven.

“Why did you need so much?” asked the right twin.

“Yeah, he looked like he was about to collapse when he came back to the tent,” added the left.

“I need to look into something,” Lars replied, “or rather; I need Peridot to look into something.”

“You’re gonna test it?” the twins asked together in surprise.

“That kid is different. I don’t know how, but I don’t think he’s just another human. Either he’s hiding something, or he doesn’t know it himself. We need to know.”

“…and you’re basing this on the fact that he’s strong and healed up quickly?” asked the right Rutile.

Lars nodded his head, “but there’s more. Did you notice? I only caught it when he was lifting that Mermaid up from the chair earlier. …he doesn’t have a bellybutton.”

The twins looked at one another before glancing back at their Captain.   
“What do you think that means?” asked the right twin with genuine curiosity.

“I have a few theories, but I’m not jumping to any conclusions until I know for sure. Once Peridot gets here, we’ll know for sure whether or not that kid is what he says he is.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the latest chapters have been a little short, I just had to get them out of the way before the longer update came out. 
> 
> Once again, thank you all for reading and the wonderful comments you leave behind. I love it!


	8. Becoming Human

Steven woke up from his rest, feeling much better than when he closed his eyes. As he sat up with a yawn, he was pleasantly surprised to see Spinel sleeping at his bedside. She must have fallen asleep before she could return to the small pool. She really was just like that stray cat. He took the blanket that covered him and gently draped it over Spinel's slender frame. She looked so delicate while she was sleeping, how could anyone stomach hurting someone like her?

While Steven brushed a bit of hair from Spinel's face, a young woman peeked into the tent, startling him a bit. The girl simply stared at Steven and Spinel with a blank expression. Steven looked back at her, unsure what to do. It was someone he had never seen here before. She was rather short, with yellow hair that had been put up in a bun, but still seemed untidy. The yellow collared shirt she wore was a bit disheveled and didn't quite match with the brown and red checkered pants she had on. At least most of her untidy appearance was covered by the large white lab coat. Though the girl also wore large, yellow tinted goggles, Steven could clearly see the green, inverted triangle shaped Gem on her forehead. So this was another Mermaid?

"G-Good morning?" Steven greeted finally, hoping to break the awkward silence.

The girl narrowed her eyes as she continued to stare at Steven, not bothering to reply.

"You're Steven?" she asked, as if she was expecting someone else.

"I am," he replied automatically.

"Huh. I see," muttered the strange young woman. "Wake your friend; I've brought the Gem for her."

"Wait, does that mean…you're Peridot?"

"Yes. I was sent here to help a Mermaid," answered Peridot simply. "So wake her up. This procedure is not going to be pleasant, I need to prepare her first."

Though Peridot turned to leave, Steven reached out, "W-wait! She's wanted to meet you; don't you want to be here when your friend wakes up?"

Peridot looked down at Spinel as she slept before glancing back at Steven.

"She's no friend of mine…" answered Peridot bitterly before she turned and walked away.

Steven stared at the entrance to the tent, a little confused. Spinel was looking forward to seeing her friend, but Peridot didn't seem to react at all when she saw her. Still, maybe that would change once they talked face to face? "Hey, Spinel?" Steven began, gently shaking her shoulder.

Spinel groaned a bit, but when she opened her eyes she saw Steven staring down at her. "Chocolate?!" she asked in a panic, unsure how long she had been asleep.

"No need, I feel much better," Steven replied with a laugh. "Thanks for looking after me."

Spinel sat up, anxiously tugging at one of her pigtails in embarrassment. "You're welcome…"

"Your friend Peridot is here," announced Steven. "She came in earlier to say that your Gem procedure would start soon and they wanted to prep you. …She uh…didn't seem too happy to see you though. …maybe she didn't recognize you."

Though Spinel smiled at first, her smile faded slowly and she sighed. "No, I'm sure she knew who I was…and I'm sure she wasn't happy to see me. I was excited to see her…because I just wanted confirmation she was alive."

"Why wouldn't she be happy to see you? Weren't you friends?"

"We…used to be. …but I once…trusted someone that made me lose all of my friends." Spinel admitted, pulling at both of her pigtails now.

Steven couldn't help but notice that she didn't quite elaborate on the subject, so he thought it better not to pry. He was already aware that Spinel had trouble trusting others, but he figured it was just because he was human. "Hey…I'm sure—"

"Are you ready?" Lars asked as he peeked into the tent, unaware the two were having a conversation. "Everything has been set up inside my tent."

Spinel was actually glad to have a distraction. She wasn't even sure why she'd mentioned anything about her past like that. He certainly didn't need to know what happened to her or what she did. "Yes, let's get this over with."

Steven didn't say anything before he lifted Spinel into his arms, following Lars from their tent and towards his own. He still wasn't too excited about Spinel receiving one of these Gems, but all he could do now was support her and hope his fears didn't come to pass.

Once they arrived, what Steven saw didn't make him feel any better about this. Things had been set up as if they were about to perform surgery.

Peridot was waiting beside a metal cot that had been rolled in, holding a large pink Gem in the shape of a heart. "Set her down and I'll explain what's going to happen." Peridot ordered simply.

Steven was terribly reluctant to do so, but he carried Spinel to the cot and placed her down carefully. "...can I stay here?" He asked, glancing over at Peridot. He didn't want to get in the way, but how could he leave when she was about to undergo something like this.

"That's fine. I've heard you're rather strong. I may need you to hold her down," answered Peridot as she grabbed a large syringe.

"Hold her down?" Repeated Steven, clearly becoming more and more anxious about this by the second. "Is this—"

"—she'll be in a lot of pain," interjected Peridot. "Her entire body will be changing. Growing new bones and limbs, fusing with the Gem as it becomes the core part of her body. So yes, this procedure is dangerous. Some Mermaids don't survive the transformation."

Steven breathed deep, trying not to panic, but failing as his brain began screaming that he should take Spinel and run. Spinel could see that Steven was losing his composure. Not that she cared for the words Peridot chose either. Reaching over, Spinel placed her hand on Stevens arm.

"I'll be fine," Spinel reassured.

Though Steven wasn't sure Spinel would want him to, he clasped both his hands around hers and nodded with a nervous smile. "Y-yeah. You'll be fine."

Spinel was once again surprised by Steven. The way he worried about her, it was as if she were something precious. In six thousand years, had anyone treated her this way?

"I see your trust in humans hasn't changed." Peridot chided bitterly.

Steven was taken aback by Peridots words, but Spinel was not. If anything, it seemed she had expected it. What surprised Steven even more was that Spinel wasn't saying anything back. She just had this wounded look on her face.

"Hey, she-" though Steven felt the need to defend her, Spinel shook her head, hoping he wouldn't continue.

"Let's get started," Peridot stated as Lars and Rhodonite arrived to help.

All Steven could do was take a deep breath as the others prepared a few things. He didn't know how any of this was really going to work, but he wanted it to be over as soon as possible.

Spinel was also feeling a bit anxious about this. It was difficult not to now that the moment had arrived. Steven was right, this was terribly risky, but the end result was worth it. She'd be much less of a burden this way.

Peridot began by sticking Spinel in the tail with the syringe, which luckily didn't seem to hurt much. Next, she took the Gem in her hands and started reading from a piece of paper. Steven couldn't understand the words she used, but as she read them, a light flickered inside the Gem, getting brighter the more she repeated the spell. Once the Gem had lit up completely, Peridot placed it on Spinels stomach. The anxious silence was broken the moment that Gem touched Spinel’s skin and she began screaming out in pain.

"Spinel?!" Steven gasped out, gripping her hand tight.

The Gem appeared to be sinking into her stomach as if it were burning through her skin to melt into her. Rhodonite was already holding down Spinel’s tail as the Mermaid squirmed in pain. Her screams were filling the tent and the more time went on, she couldn't keep still.

"Hold her shoulders down," demanded Peridot. "She needs to keep as still as possible."

Steven grit his teeth and quickly placed his hands on Spinel’s shoulders to hold her down. He hated this. Looking back, he could see that the Gem had seeped its way into her body. He hoped that meant the worst was over, but to his dismay, it only seemed to get worse from there. Spinel’s entire body began to convulse, her eyes wide as she screamed even louder. Tears poured from her eyes as her body rocked against the cot in an attempt to either reject or accept the Gem that entered her.

"How long is this gonna take?!" Shouted Steven over Spinel’s screams.

"The worst is almost over," Lars shouted back.

Spinel was gasping for breath, as her entire body burned her. It was like a something was crushing all of her bones from the inside and setting them ablaze. The pain was almost too much to take and she kept praying that she would simply pass out, but it didn't seem she would be so lucky. Though Spinel couldn't see it, Steven was watching her body change slowly. Her pink skin was turning a light peach hue, her scales were slowly disappearing, and her tail was separating to form the shape of two human legs. Once her scales were gone completely, Steven looked away from Spinel’s naked body as it was nearly done forming its new design.

The moment her tails transformation had been completed, Spinel finally stopped screaming and was granted a mercy when she lost consciousness, her body going limp against the cot. Steven was relieved she was no longer screaming, but she still seemed to be in pain. "Is that...it?" Steven asked hopefully, trying to steady his own breathing as he removed his hands from Spinel’s shoulders. He made sure to keep his gaze on her face to preserve her modesty, getting a little annoyed that another man was in here while she was like this.

Rhodonite placed a thin sheet over Spinel’s bare body, allowing Steven look her over without guilt. It was then that he noticed where the Gem had chosen to position itself. The heart shaped Gem had taken its place right in the middle of Spinel’s chest and turned upside down.

"...oh come on..." Steven groaned with a tired sigh. It was like someone was making a bad joke. An upside down heart, over her actual heart that now acted as a target for someone to hurt her?

"The next 12 hours are going to be crucial for her. The Gem will be taking in her energy and attempting to redistribute it. She'll develop a fever and need to stay hydrated. Her new legs will also be weak and cause her a lot of pain. The healing process is different for everyone, but hopefully she'll be walking in the next few days." Peridot explained, finally looking a little concerned for her old friend.

Steven was forced to walk back to their tent alone while Peridot and Rhodonite dressed Spinel. To make sure she was as comfortable as possible for now, they dressed her in a large night shirt. Peridot explained that it was best not to cover her legs for now because she would need to be checking them. When Spinel was finally brought back to the tent, Rhodonite was holding her while the Rutile Twins removed the small pool, replacing it with a futon for Spinel to sleep on.

Without a word, they left Steven alone with Spinel while he knelt beside her bed. Though he was still worried about her, he had to admit that her human form was just as lovely as her Mermaid one. With a long sigh, Steven placed his hand over his heart and closed his eyes. He was relieved she had gotten through the worst of it, but this experience had certainly taken years off his life.

He was vigilant in watching over her for the rest of the day, wiping the sweat from her brow, keeping a cold wet rag over her forehead in an attempt to cool her fever, and checking her pulse every so often. They had brought food for him a couple of times during the day, but he honestly wasn't hungry. His stomach was still in knots over the events of this morning.

Before he knew it, the sun had set for the day. The only thing he could take comfort in was that her fever had finally broken and her breathing was no longer as labored as before. As he reached over to remove the cold cloth from her forehead, Spinel’s eyes fluttered open slowly.

"...it hurts..." Spinel groaned softly.

"Wh-what hurts?!" Asked Steven in a panic.

Spinel lifted her arm and her eyes opened wider as she examined herself. Her skin tone had changed and her scales were gone. She was terribly aware of her new legs due to the horrible, stinging pain that pulsed from the both of them. She wanted to sit up and check the rest of her body, but everything ached.

"Everything," Spinel replied, "everything hurts."

“Is there anything I can do?

“You can take a walk,” began Peridot as she entered the tent. “I need to speak with Spinel alone.”

Steven was a bit conflicted. He didn’t want to be rude, but the two girls seemed to have a complicated history and he didn’t want Peridot to say something that would upset Spinel when she was just starting to feel better.   
“…she’s still not feeling well…” answered Steven.

“I wasn’t **asking** you,” Peridot hissed.

Spinel attempted to sit up, “Steven…could you give us a minute…?”

“…okay, but…don’t overdo it. You just woke up…” replied Steven as he got to his feet and reluctantly left the tent so the two could talk in private.


	9. A Difficult Choice

Alone in the tent, Peridot sat herself beside Spinel while the formally pink Mermaid rested from her procedure.

“…So...it appears you have learned nothing after all these years,” began Peridot.

“What was I supposed to do? I got caught. He helped me get away,” answered Spinel, unable to sit up and face Peridot properly. “…he’s…not so bad.”

“You all said something similar before and how did that turn out for you?

Spinel frowned, feeling her eyes burn, “why did you even help me with this?”

“There are so few of us left. It’s best we all help one another, rather than fighting amongst ourselves. …and…I heard what happened to you after the war ended.”

“Yeah, so you thought I got what I deserved and now you pity me?” Spinel asked bitterly. “I don’t need—“

“—Pity you?!” Peridot shouted in disbelief as she got to her feet. “I don’t feel anything like that for you! Not after you and the others betrayed us. It was all of you that got Lapis caught in the first place!”

“We never meant for anyone to get hurt, we were trying to--- AGH!” Spinel had tried to sit up and turn to see Peridot as they snapped at one another, but when she tried to move, a stabbing pain shot through her spine.

“You shouldn’t move,” Peridot stated simply.

“Yeah…I figured that out…” groaned Spinel, carefully laying herself on her back again.

Peridot seemed conflicted for a moment, but she took a deep breath and her expression softened a bit.   
“…considering what happened. …you were also a victim of that woman. She fooled everyone.”

Spinel honestly didn’t want to talk about any of this, but it’s not like she could run off. She wasn’t even moving and it felt like thousands of needles were stabbing at her newly formed legs.   
“…Well…I hope that you find Lapis…”

“Oh, I already know where she is, the problem is getting her out,” Peridot sighed miserably. “Lapis is being held at the Capital by the royal family.”

“…for all this time?” asked Spinel in surprise. “Not that it’s not a good thing, but why would they keep her alive for thousands of years just to have her?”

“Lapis is strong…and I’m certain they are using her against us in some way. Over the last few centuries, more and more mermaids have been getting caught too easily. They might be using Lapis to manipulate the waters in their favor.”

Spinel felt sick to her stomach. Who knows what the humans were doing to Lapis to make her use her abilities. Why? What had they ever done to make the humans hate them so much?

“I’ve been posing as a human for a long time, trying to gather information and contacts that can get me closer to the palace where she is being held…and I’m finally getting close. …my point is you should cut that human loose before history repeats itself. Not just for your sake, but for everyone else’s. I’m still angry at Lars for even allowing a human in here at all.”

Spinel was quiet. She wanted to argue with Peridot, but wouldn’t that be like rubbing salt in an old wound? It would probably just be a repeat of the past like Peridot said. After all, this conversation felt horribly familiar.

Peridot wasn’t sure what to make of Spinel’s silence, but she had said what she came to say. “…I’ll be back in a little while to check on your legs. Even when your body starts to feel better, don’t try to stand up, you’ll just fall and make it worse.” Peridot instructed as she left the Tent. The conversation hadn’t gone as planned. Though she planned on trying to be a lot more pleasant, when she came in and saw that human acting so familiar with Spinel, her mood soured at once. It didn’t get any better when she left the tent and the same human talking so cheerfully with the Rutile twins. She didn’t say a word as she passed by them, sure that this human was no different than the one Spinel had met in the past. All Humans were the same. She’d lived among them for a thousand years now in her attempt to save Lapis and she still didn’t trust a single one.

Peridot stepped into Lars’ tent with an irritated groan.

“The talk didn’t go well?” asked Lars as he looked over an old map.

“You knew it wouldn’t, but I’m not here to talk about that. I want to talk about that Human you let stay in here. I tested the blood like you asked.”

Lars glanced up from the map, “and?”

Peridot looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening before she turned back to Lars.   
“You were right. Something is off about that boy. His DNA came across as human…but there is something else in there I can’t identify. It’s as if his genes have been spliced multiple times.”

Lars sighed and rolled up large map, looking slightly disappointed. “I had hoped it wouldn’t be so serious.”

“So you’re thinking the same thing I am?” asked Peridot.

“I am, but since there is no way to confirm it right now, we have to be cautious. We have to take those two with us to keep an eye on him.”

“I’m not going to let that thing roam around when we have all these mermaids to take with us. Let me sedate him and take him back to my workshop. I’ll keep him there until I confirm what they did to him.”

“We are not going to stoop to their level,” Lars insisted. “Besides, we don’t know if Steven’s even aware of this. He might be innocent.”

“-and he might be—“

As Peridot tried to argue with Lars, they felt a large tremor beneath their feet that threw them off balance. They looked at one another in a panic and both turned for the door. Leaving the tent, they witnessed smoke seeping through the camouflaged door that protected their camp.

“It’s a raid! Off Colors, we’re leaving!!” shouted Lars, calling his crew to his side.

The other mermaids had already begun to panic when the tremor rattled the ground. Rutile had planned to pull Steven along with her, but just after the ground began shaking, Steven immediately ran off towards Spinel’s tent.

“Steven?! What’s going on?!” Spinel asked frantically, sitting up despite the terrible pain.

He wasn’t able to explain fast enough before a loud explosion caused another tremor, knocking most of them to the floor. Steven scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could, “We have to go! I’m sorry!”   
He knew it would hurt her, but she still couldn’t walk on her own. They could each hear armored footsteps rushing the camp, forcing Steven to ignore Spinel’s gasps of pain when he scooped her up into his arms. Unfortunately for them, it was chaos outside the tent now.

Soldiers in golden armor were scattering around the camp to capture the mermaids they had hiding here and whoever was helping them. Lars had called everyone to his side in order to escape, but making a direct rush for his tent seemed impossible now that the soldiers were making their way there. Steven had to think fast, frantically looking for a way out.

“Spinel, this way,” shouted Peridot, running hand in hand with Lars, trying to get to as many mermaids as they could. Lars’ eyes were glowing a white hot light, and with an echoed shout, a large pink circle appeared in the middle of the floor. Without hesitation, the Off Colors jumped down into the circle, a few others still struggling to get there.

Steven wasn’t sure where that hole was going to take them, but they had no other choice. He had to get Spinel there. Turning on his heel, Steven made a dash for the Lars and the others.

“Steven! Look out!!” Spinel shouted, spotting a soldier coming up behind them behind them fast.

“GAH,” Steven exclaimed painfully as the soldier grabbed his collar to pull him back and slam him against the ground. Though he did his best to keep hold of Spinel, another soldier had grabbed her arm and forced them apart as he fell back.

“I got this one,” the guard shouted, tossing Spinel over his shoulder which prompted a painful cry from her lips.

Steven panicked as he watched the guard turn to walk away with Spinel and though he wasn’t keen on hurting others, he couldn’t allow the soldier to keep him down. As he pushed one soldier off of him, two others came to their comrades’ aid, finding it difficult to hold Steven down.

Spinel was trying to look back at Steven, but everything hurt so much. Her newly formed legs were worse than useless. Each nerve burned her from the inside and her entire body ached as if she had been thrown against a large boulder many times. She was trying to concentrate and summon her scythe, but the pain was too much. As she wracked her brain for some sort of solution, she felt a stabbing pain at her ankles. Someone had grabbed her and pulled back as the guard carrying her was falling to the ground. Feeling as though she had been bashed against another rock, Spinel was on the floor, watching as Steven was pinning her captor to the ground. She barely had time to smile before Peridot locked her arms under Spinel’s shoulders to try and drag her body towards the warp circle that Lars had made.

Peridot knew that this must be hell for Spinel, but she didn’t have the strength to lift her completely. She was forced to drag her along the ground as best she could.

“W-Wait!! Steven’s still---“ Spinel tried as she watched more guards rushing towards Steven.

“We have to go while he’s keeping them busy!” Peridot insisted.

“The portal is closing! Hurry up!!” Lars demanded as he helped another Mermaid into it, waiting anxiously for Peridot and Spinel.

It was as if everything had gone silent as Spinel was being forced away while Steven was doing his best to keep the soldiers from following them. Her body was screaming and she knew it was difficult for Peridot to drag her away, but were they really going to escape and leave Steven behind? She could vaguely hear him telling them to hurry and leave. Why? Why was he willing to go this far?

“Lars! Grab Spinel!” Peridot shouted, sure that she wouldn’t be able to get there on time.

As Lars rushed over to them, Spinel panicked and forced her body to move. It felt as if her bones were breaking as she jerked her arms away from a shocked Peridot. Though she knew it was pointless, Spinel got to her feet, falling to her knees almost immediately, tearing up from the painful shocks that shot through her body.

“Spinel! Get back here!” Peridot cried out. Lars had to hold the small mermaid back, knowing that she’d get caught if she tried to grab Spinel again.

Steven was stunned, watching Spinel struggle to get to her feet.   
“What are you doing?!” he shouted, pinning down another soldier after knocking out a few during the scuffle.

“I’m not leaving you behind, you—you idiot!!” Spinel replied, barely finding the strength to speak through the pain. “You’re coming with us!”

Steven had been all set to stay behind to give them all time to escape, so he was fine holding the soldiers back, but if Spinel didn’t get away, it would all be pointless. Unfortunately, while he was distracted, the soldier he was pinning down had reached his knife, thrusting it into Steven’s left side.

“STEVEN!!” Spinel screamed, watching helplessly as he doubled over in pain, the soldiers finally getting the upper hand. One stayed to hold him down on the ground, while the two that were left conscious headed for the portal.

“I’m sorry,” Lars shouted forcing Peridot to jump into the portal with him. He had to close it before the guards got in and found the other mermaids. He didn’t like leaving anyone behind, but he couldn’t put the others in danger.

“Spinel!! The Capital---“ Peridot’s words were cut off as the portal closed, leaving Steven and Spinel alone with the remaining guards.

With the portal gone, the soldiers turned for Spinel to drag her away. Steven could only see their blurry figures as they neared the weakened mermaid. If they knew about the Gem, they could easily take her out. His body felt a little cold as his blood seeped slowly from the knife wound, but he couldn’t allow himself to pass out now. Once one of the guards pulled Spinel by the hair to lift her up, something snapped inside of Steven.

“DON’T TOUCH HER!!” Steven screamed, alarming everyone as the ground beneath him crumbled, a bright pink wave of light rippling from his body and knocking out the remaining soldiers.

Spinel was left sitting on the ground, staring wide eyed at Steven as he panted for breath, barely realizing what he had just done.   
“…wha…?” Spinel breathed, unable to process what had happened. She looked back at the guard that had grabbed her hair. He was bleeding. They all were. From that light? How was that possible and how did it miss her? It was all strange, but she’d have to save her questions for later. Steven was losing consciousness from the blood loss and she was still too far away. She knew that her legs would get her nowhere, so she used her elbows to drag herself along the ground. It took nearly everything she had left in her, but she eventually made it to Steven’s side, taking a moment to catch her breath before she tried to get his attention.   
“St-Steven…say something…” she pleaded breathlessly, trying to roll him over onto his back so she could remove his shirt and examine the knife wound.

“…you’re….o…kay?” asked Steven, barely able to keep his eyes open.

As looked Steven over, Spinel wasn’t sure what to do. His eyelids were threatening to fall, but she could see now that his eyes had changed color. They were pink now. Was it because of the light as well? She shook her head and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. “I’m fine,” she lied quickly, pulling up his shirt to find the wound, but was stunned once again to see that it had already closed up. He must have just been weak from the blood he already lost. This was all so confusing, but she was in so much pain and so relieved to see that he was no longer in immediate danger, that she just couldn’t bring herself to do anything more. Leaning over, Spinel rested her head on her arms over Steven’s chest, needing a moment to gather her thoughts and rest her aching body.


	10. While You Sleep

Steven only realized that he had lost consciousness when he opened his eyes with a start. His last memory being of Spinel, as she dragged herself to his side once the soldiers had been knocked out. Luckily, he didn’t have to look too hard for the former mermaid. Spinel was resting against his chest, but it didn’t appear to be a peaceful one. How could it be? However, even when Steven sat up, doing his best not to wake her, Spinel didn’t stir. She must have been exhausted. Her hair was a mess and she was covered in dirt from crawling on the ground. With a tired sigh, Steven rubbed a bit of mud from her cheek with his thumb. Even though he had promised to help her, here she was suffering again. Why hadn’t she gone with her friends when she had the chance? Surely they would do a better job of keeping her from all this misfortune.

After collecting his thoughts, Steven looked around to make sure none of the soldiers were going to wake up, but was distressed to find that it didn’t appear they would be opening their eyes any time soon. The soldier nearest to them was lying on his back, the helmet knocked from his head when he hit the floor. A trail of blood from his eyes and mouth had already dried and what poured out must have soaked into the ground, leaving a brown-red stain on the grass around his neck. In a quiet panic, Steven searched his memory frantically. He had knocked out a few guards, but there was no way that he hit them hard enough to kill anyone, right? No matter how hard he tried to remember, it was like his memory was glitching out and this bright pink light kept flashing in his mind instead of any proper detail.

Steven may not have been sure what happened, but they couldn’t stay here much longer. More soldiers might show up and even if Spinel didn’t look like a mermaid right now, they were surrounded by downed guards. Besides that, Spinel was still recovering from receiving her Gem, he needed to get her somewhere to properly rest. Carefully, Steven moved Spinel from his lap and got to his feet in order to prepare for what he had to do first. Even though these men had come after the mermaids, he couldn’t just leave them laying here. They deserved a proper burial. He wondered if Spinel would call him an idiot for taking the time to do this. He would just feel too guilty if he didn’t off these men a respectful send off. Admittedly, it took longer than he had hoped, but eventually Steven finished digging some decent graves and settled the fallen soldiers in them as gently as he could. After he was finished setting their helmets as grave markers, he went to find a blanket and get the bag of supplies that the Off Colors put in their tent. At the very least, Steven was sure that he put a change of clothes in there. Perhaps if he searched the other tents he could find some clothes for Spinel as well. Once they left the forest, it would probably be for the best if they didn’t look like they just fell off a cliff so as not to attract attention.

Steven changed his clothes, grateful that he didn’t have anything that would stand out. With a loose white shirt, brown work pants, and beige leather boots, he would look like any other laborer. Once he had finished gathering their things, he grabbed one of his other clean shirts and a small bowl of water, leaving the tent to make his way back towards where Spinel was resting on the grass. In all this time, she hadn’t made the slightest indication that she’d be waking any time soon. Though he had dampened a cloth with the intentions of wiping the dirt from her body, Steven found himself hesitating as he stared down at his sleeping friend. His cheeks burned as he reached down and began to gently clean the dirt from her face. He wasn’t sure why this made him so nervous, but he felt a little guilty doing this while she was asleep. Rinsing the cloth in the water, he made his way slowly down her neck, stopping when he reached the collar of her shirt where her Gem was barely visible. He still didn’t like knowing she had this target on her chest, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Steven looked away and though he knew he should start wiping down her arms and legs, the very thought made him even more nervous than before. Clearing his throat, Steven decided that this was good enough. He just couldn’t bring himself to go any further.

After several attempts to wake her, Steven eventually gave up, content that she was at least getting some rest. Her body must have really needed to recharge a bit. He carefully scooped Spinel up into his arms, looking down at her sleeping face for a moment with a smile. “I’m sure we’ll run into your friends again…but for now…I guess you’re stuck with me,” Steven whispered before heading out of the clearing and into the dark forest. The moment he stepped out amongst the sea of trees, the darkness surrounded them, forcing Steven to walk blind. Since he couldn’t see anything, this trip was going to be a gamble. This is what made this forest so dangerous. People often got lost, got hunted, or went crazy in the dark. Still, he didn’t have much choice. Besides, those soldiers somehow the clearing didn’t they?   
“This might end up taking a while…” Steven muttered to himself, keeping holding of Spinel with one arm as he used his free hand to feel in front of him. With just a few steps, Steven’s hand pressed against the trunk of a tree. He was about to turn and feel in the other direction, but before his palm left the surface of the tree completely, the leaves above them began to glow a gentle pink light, barely illuminating the area at the base of the tree. Steven gasped and glanced up at the luminous leaves in awe, only to be amazed as the other trees seemed to follow suit. A trail was slowly being formed by a line of select trees that were glowing one after the other. Each one with the same soft pink hue as the tree he stood under.

Perhaps someone else would find this suspicious or strange, but Steven was elated in thinking the forest was trying to help them. After all, it did have magical properties. He didn’t hesitate to follow the trail of light, walking leisurely through the forest now. The light that came from the trees was warm and rather calming, he was a little disappointed that Spinel was sleeping through all this. Surely she would find it as beautiful as he did.

It took hours, but eventually Steven was able to see the light of the sun peeking through the shadows of the dimly lit trees. As soon as he got close enough to use the suns light as a marker, the trees around him once again faded into the dark.   
“…thanks for the help,” said Steven with a smile before he reached the edge of the forest and stepped out into the sunlight.   
Luckily, it seemed the forest had led them straight to a road heading for a town. They didn’t have a lot of money, but Steven wanted to find an Inn so that Spinel could sleep comfortably for once in an actual bed.

“Hey you!!”

Steven flinched when he heard the bellow of a woman calling out, hopefully not to them. He peeked over his shoulder to see a bright, stocky woman riding up behind them in a small carriage. The woman stopped her carriage just short of Steven and Spinel, pulling the reins on the horse that hauled her coach. With a closer look, the woman had confident, determined eyes, a stocky, short build, and short blonde hair that she had tied back to keep out of her way.

“What are you two doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” She asked seriously, a tinge of concern in her voice that Steven couldn’t help but notice.

Reluctant to answer her right away, Steven looked down at Spinel, wondering what he could say that didn’t sound suspicious. Surely he must have looked a little shady while carrying an unconscious woman down the side of the road.   
“…We…I was trying to get her to an Inn. She’s not in good health right now…”

The woman gasped dramatically and quickly hopped down from the coachmens seat.   
“You poor things,” she exclaimed, making her way over to Steven in order to look over Spinel. “I heard some soldiers had run through this town to go on a raid. Did they invade your town? Those royal lap dogs think they can do whatever they please just because they work under that war hungry First Princess of theirs.”

Steven was a little swept away by the woman’s rant as she came to her own conclusions about what happened to them. However, she didn’t seem like a bad person.   
“…um, this might be a lot to ask, but could you possibly give us a ride into the next town? I can’t offer you a lot of money, but—“

“—Don’t you worry, young man,” she interrupted, puffing up her chest with a confident smile. “The names Barbara Miller and I’m the best there is when it comes to getting things where they need to go and I wouldn’t dream of ignoring a young couple in need.”

Being referred to as a couple forced Steven’s heart to skip and he quickly cleared his throat, “Ah—she’s n--she wouldn't--“

Barbara smirked and nudged Steven with her elbow, “No need to be embarrassed. I know love when I see it. But let’s not dawdle now. We need to get your girl to that Inn so she can get some medical care, right? You two climb in the carriage, don’t mind the packages; I’m bringing some supplies to my daughter. Just settle yourself in and we’ll be on our way!”

This woman really seemed to follow her own pace. Still, at least she didn’t waste any time.   
He thanked her fervently and did as she suggested, carrying Spinel into the carriage, but refusing to set her down. Instead, he kept her in his arms while she continued to sleep. At least she wasn’t in any pain. Hopefully the next time she opened her eyes, she would be resting on a soft bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took s long for me to post this. The next chapter will be out a lot sooner. I got a little behind in my work, but I'm all caught up now. :)


	11. A Jealous Little Mermaid

When Spinel opened her eyes again, she fully expected to still be inside the raided camp. Instead, she stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. What’s more, her body didn’t ache like it had before she fell asleep. Spinel gasped and quickly sat up in the bed that she had apparently been placed in. However, in her sudden movement, she was reminded once again of her new legs when a sharp pain bristled from them. She winced a bit, decided it was best not to move them right now. Instead, she tried to figure out where she was and where Steven had gone. After all, the last thing she remembered was falling asleep on his chest once she had confirmed he was no longer in danger of bleeding out. Now, she was in a comfortable bed, she appeared to be wearing a long white nightgown, and was all alone in a seemingly empty room. There was nothing here but the bed she sat on, a simple wooden wardrobe, a small table with two chairs, and two doors that led to who knows where.

Though she was concerned over the fact that someone had clearly changed her clothes and washed her body, she had to find out where Steven was before she panicked over anything else. Against her better judgment, Spinel grabbed her legs to help them over the edge of the bed. It still hurt so much, but now that she had legs to walk on, she refused to just sit here and wait. With a deep breath to prepare herself, Spinel tried to stand.

Despite the aching pain that stabbed at her legs, her balance was off and her new legs crumbled beneath her. She toppled to the floor with a gasp, catching herself on her hands. “Are you kidding me,” exclaimed Spinel incredulously. So not only did she have to deal with the pain, now she had to deal with the fact that her legs felt like wobbly noodles. Even if it made sense, the reality of the fact that she’d have to learn to walk properly upset her. She was still useless like this. Grabbing the side of the bed, Spinel pulled herself back to her feet, trying hard to keep her unsteady legs from caving in again.

As Spinel was struggling to keep herself upright, the door to the bedroom opened slowly and Steven stepped inside carrying a large paper bag. The two froze at once when they caught site of one another.   
Spinel smiled, but before she was able to say a word, Steven had dropped the bag and rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around Spinel’s slim frame without warning.

“Steven?! What are you---?!”

“You’re awake…” Steven stated with a sigh of relief.

Spinel wondered now just how long she had been sleeping. From the change of venue and change of clothes, she assumed it was at least nearly a day, but she couldn’t be sure. For Steven to be so shocked when he saw her awake, perhaps it was much longer than that?   
“…how long have I been asleep…?” Spinel asked, starting to feel her cheeks burn the longer he held her, realizing only now that her feet weren’t touching the floor.

“Nearly three days,” answered Steven quietly. “I was starting to worry that something had gone really wrong, but I didn’t know if I could take you to a human doctor...and even when I put you in water, nothing seemed to help. So I’ve just been waiting…”

“Three days,” she repeated in disbelief. “…so where are we now? …and wait—did you change my clothes?!” Spinel exclaimed now, trying to push herself away from him, he face completely red.

Steven quickly released Spinel by easing her back to sit on the bed, his cheeks clearly flushed as stared down at her. “N-No! Well…I did, but I swear I didn’t look at anything! I—I couldn’t leave you in those wet clothes after I tried to put you in the bathtub…and I couldn’t ask the inn keeper because I thought she would ask about the Gem, I’m really sorry, but really, I kept my eyes closed the entire time,” he explained in a panic. He figured she would ask about the change of clothes, but even if he was prepared for the question, it was still nerve wracking to answer.

Spinel’s face felt so warm that she was certain steam must be seeping from her skin. She covered her reddened face within her hands with a mortified whimper. She actually believed Steven when he said he didn’t look. He was too honest for his own good. However, even if he didn’t see anything, she had been naked in front of him and he had undressed and redressed her. It was a humiliating thought.

“I’m really, really sorry,” tried Steven again, unsure how to make this right. The only reason he had put her in the tub was because he thought maybe she needed to be in water to heal faster, but now that she had the Gem it didn’t work and then she was just asleep in wet clothes. It had made him feel so guilty even with his eyes closed.

It took her a moment and a few long, deep breaths, but eventually Spinel lowered her hands and glanced up at Steven, her face still rather flushed. “I-I’m not mad…” she began, her voice shaking gently as Spinel tried her best not to overreact. “…I…I know—I’m sure it…was necessary…”

Though Steven was relieved that Spinel wasn’t horribly upset with him, he was sure that she still felt like he had invaded her privacy in a terrible way. How was he supposed to make this up to her?   
The awkward silence between seemed to last forever before a knock came at the door, startling the both of them. Though Spinel was worried about who might be on the other side, Steven didn’t seem concerned and went to open the door.

“Good evening, Steven,” greeted a young woman.

Spinel leaned over the edge of the bed curiously as Steven greeted the girl. The woman wore a baby blue summer dress with cupped sleeves and a pink ribbon that tied it back just under her bust. Her brunette hair was braided back and she had small beauty mark just under the corner of her left eye. All in all, she was rather cute. How did Steven know her?

“Um-well I accidentally made too much food again,” the woman announced with a clearly nervous tone. “So I thought that maybe you could use something to eat. I mean…you really shouldn’t just eat things from the market after all…”

“Steven?” Spinel chimed in.

“Oh! Spinel, this is Elaine,” introduced Steven as he stepped to the side so that Spinel could see the girl clearly. “Her family runs this Inn. And Elaine, you already know that this is Spinel, but you never got to officially say hello.”

Elaine met Spinel’s gaze with her emerald hues and the disguised mermaid could tell that the girl looked slightly disappointed.   
“O-oh, your…**friend** is awake. You must be so relieved. It’s…nice to meet you finally.”

Spinel scoffed under her breath. It was clear to her that Elaine wasn’t happy to meet her at all. Certainly she had come to try and flirt with Steven. Spinel planted on a phony smile, “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Steven was blissfully unaware of the girls hostility towards one another and was just glad for a change of subject so that things could stop being so awkward. “I **am** relieved,” he agreed with a bright smile.

Elaine cleared her throat quietly and regained her composure as she turned to Steven with the basket of food that she had brought with her. “W-well, maybe you and your **friend** could share the food I made. I wasn’t aware that she had woken up…so I’m afraid there might not be enough…”

“I already ate,” Steven replied, “but I’m sure Spinel would appreciate something to eat.”

Elaine shrunk a bit, clearly displeased with his answer. She had worked hard to make Steven this meal and was unhappy that he wouldn’t be the one to taste it. After all, she had been trying to offer him food for the last two days and the one time he accepted it, was for another girl.   
“Right, well I’m glad I can help.”

“Yeah, thanks for the help,” proclaimed Spinel with a plastered on smile. She really didn’t appreciate this girl trying to cozy up to Steven while she was sleeping.

Elaine stiffened a bit at Spinel’s reply, but something suddenly occurred to her.   
“Y-you know, I’m sure that your friend would like to stretch her legs. Why don’t the both of you come down to the kitchen? My mother has already closed the restaurant, but we can share a bit of the blueberry pie that I made for dessert.”

“Thanks, but I think Spinel’s legs might still hurt from the…accident,” Steven fibbed slightly. To explain why Spinel was unconscious when he arrived at the Inn, he told the host that they were in an accident. It would also help to explain why she wouldn’t be walking well due to the pain in her legs.

“So unless you want Steven to carry me to the kitchen, we’ll pass.” Spinel added.

“I think we have a wheelchair somewhere,” insisted Elaine, starting to get annoyed over Spinel’s interference with her plans to spend some time with Steven. She’d been working so hard to force him into conversation.

Spinel was getting agitated now. Elaine was not backing down and even seemed rather desperate about forcing this. She might feel guilty about this later, but Spinel knew how to make this girl go away.   
“Steven…” she began with a pout as she glanced up at him, “…I’m feeling a little light headed…”

Elaine frowned as Steven immediately rushed over to Spinel without so much as a word.   
“Do you need to lie down, or should I get you some water,” asked Steven in concern.

Steven was always so worried about her. Spinel knew she would feel guilty about using that to her advantage. She already regretted her decision. With a sheepish smile, she reached over and grabbed Steven’s hand. Now she just felt bad. “…no. Um…I don’t need anything…”

Once Spinel took his hand, Steven felt his cheeks burn lightly. “…well…you should still take it easy. I just got you back after all. I’d hate for you to overdo it and end up sleeping for another few days.”

His words caught Spinel off guard and she averted her eyes from his honest gaze as her cheeks reddened. “I-I’m not going anywhere…”

Elaine sulked, irate that the two seemed to be flirting and had forgotten she was here.   
“Well, I guess I’ll just leave the food here,” Elaine spoke up to get their attention.

Steven flinched and Spinel quickly took her hand back, feeling embarrassed now.   
“Ah…thanks Elaine. I’m sure Spinel will enjoy it,” replied Steven as he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little guilty to admit that he had forgotten Elaine was watching them.

The young woman forced a smile so that Steven wouldn’t notice her displeasure. Placing the basket just inside the room by the door, Elaine glanced at Steven once again, “Perhaps we can talk tomorrow. Goodnight…both of you.” With a peek at Spinel, Elaine scowled a bit before quickly pasting on her feigned smile of innocence and heading down the hall to leave.

Quietly, Steven shut the door after Elaine was gone and grabbed the basket of food to place it on the little table.   
“Are you hungry? I know you said before that you have to really eat, but maybe that’s changed with the Gem too?”

“I could probably eat something a little later…” replied Spinel, honestly disinterested in that girls food. “So…that girl seemed pretty fond of you. Did you make a new friend?”

“Huh? Oh, not really. When I brought you here, she was pretty worried about your condition. She came around several times a day to see if you’d improved. She has been offering me food too, cause I guess she was worried about my health since I was taking care of you.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she was **really** concerned about **me**. You know she was just trying to flirt with **you**, right? Which I have to say is pretty underhanded of her. For all she knows, I could be your lover. What, was she just hoping I would die so that she could keep you?” Spinel went on irately; getting annoyed just thinking about it. “I mean, you’re pretty nice to everyone. I bet she got her hopes up and came up with some delusion that you liked her back. What is she thinking? That you just fell in love with her at first sight? It’s only been a couple of days after all. You couldn’t possibly develop feelings for her in that short amount of time, right?”

Steven listened silently. Though confused at first why Spinel would be making these assumptions, he slowly started to catch on to something interesting the more she went on. He couldn’t help but smile a little, trying to cover it by clearing his throat little. “You don’t have to worry.”

With a light twitch, Spinel realized that she had probably said a little too much simply because Elaine rubbed her the wrong way. “Worry? I’m not **worried**. Well, I mean, if I **am** worried, it would be because you’re just too nice and we don’t really know that girl,” explained Spinel in a panic. “She could take advantage of your good nature or something.”

Steven finally picked up the bag he had dropped at the door, the smile still evident on his face. “Oh yeah? Well, it’s really sweet of you to worry about me like that,” he replied while setting the bag beside the bed before sitting himself next to Spinel. Noting to himself how nervous she appeared right now.   
“You’re right though. I couldn’t possibly develop feelings for her. And it’s not because I haven’t known her long, but because I’m just not interested in girls like her.”

Spinel was a little embarrassed to admit to herself that she was relieved by that.   
“…what types of girls…**are** you interested in?” Spinel found herself asking before she could stop herself.

“The kind of girl I’m interested in…?” repeated Steven quietly, finding his gaze drawn to Spinel’s bright, curious magenta eyes.

Another silence fell between them, but this one didn’t feel awkward or embarrassing like the last. Instead, Spinel felt her heart skip a beat as Steven locked eyes with her. Considering the question she had just asked him and the way he looked at her, the atmosphere had completely changed.

Suddenly, Steven realized that he had stopped talking. How long had he been staring at her? His cheeks tinted pink and a nervous smile laced his lips as he forced his gaze down to his lap. Spinel was right, he was an idiot. He had probably just made her feel incredibly awkward.   
“…Uh...I…I guess I never really thought about it…” he answered finally, though fumbling for the right words.

Spinel wasn’t sure what to say now. She didn’t want to assume anything. It was probably just her own ego that was making her overthink this. There was no way she could ask him though. She was most likely wrong and would just end up humiliating herself and making Steven feel awkward.   
“W-well I guess it’s not that important right now. We still have a lot to do after all.”

“That’s right,” Steven began, trying to move past his mistake quickly. “We should make a plan on what to do next. I mean, we can stay here until you’re able to walk properly. We don’t want to strain your new legs. So maybe tomorrow we can work on trying to walk a little?”

“Yeah!” Agreed Spinel quickly, happy to ease the tension a bit. “My legs are sort of weak and unsteady, but I’m sure I’ll be walking perfectly by tomorrow night. It can’t be that hard.”

“You certainly seem confident enough,” Steven chuckled. “I wouldn’t bet against you.”

When Spinel began to laugh lightly, Steven felt a small weight lifted from him. She didn’t seem put off by his behavior. She was just starting to trust him. He didn’t want to ruin that by creeping her out. Though honestly, before her question, he hadn’t realized that he might actually be developing feelings for Spinel. However, he didn’t want to think on it too much. If he confirmed to himself that he was falling for her, it would ruin the friendship they were building, destroy the trust she was forming between them, and just make the goodbye even harder at the end when Spinel went back into the Ocean. With that in mind, Steven decided it was best to forget the very idea of it. His first priority was helping her get home; there was no need to think about anything that would only make things complicated, right?


	12. Falling For You

After Steven’s close call with Spinel, he tried to keep the rest of the night as lighthearted as possible. He urged Spinel to try and eat something, but when she attempted to eat the food that Elaine had made, it only served to make her ill. It seemed the Gem had changed her appearance, but not much of her physiology. After all, Mermaids didn’t need to eat. As long as they were in the water, they were healthy. Once this fact was discovered, the two talked about how Steven had spent his time while Spinel was sleeping until late into the night. Though Steven insisted there wasn’t much to tell, Spinel was more curious about Elaine. She was happy to learn that Steven hadn’t spent any time with Elaine. From what she heard, it seemed that Elaine had been following him around, but he didn’t ever speak with her long.  
Eventually, when Spinel began to get sleepy, Steven insisted that she take the bed and he’d sleep on the floor. Though she was embarrassed about it, Spinel insisted that they could both share the bed, but Steven refused.

Even though Spinel was certain he was just being stubborn, Steven honestly didn’t think he would be able to sleep if they were so close. The bed wasn’t that big after all. When Spinel finally drifted off, Steven was left to stare at the ceiling, finding that sleep was quite impossible right now. Spinel had only just woken up from her long sleep earlier today, so he wanted her to take it easy. However, they had a lot to discuss later on. For example, Steven was curious to find out how all those guards were killed. They also had to go over their plans on where to go next. It’s not as though he sat idle while Spinel was sleeping for the past few days. Steven had spent his time doing research and trying to come up with the next best course of action. Though he had come up with what he considered to be the best option, he was certain that Spinel wouldn’t like it. With a long sigh, Steven closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep, there was still so much to do, and he didn’t want to slow it down by being overly tired.

Spinel woke up the next morning to the sound of heavy rain rapping against the window. As she sat up with a yawn, she noticed Steven sitting at the table looking over some maps. "...were you able to get any sleep...?" Spinel asked, still annoyed that Steven insisted upon sleeping on the floor. Did he hate the idea of sleeping beside her so much? She'd even humiliated herself by offering.

"Of course," replied Steven as he paused to look up from his work. Though he immediately regretted that decision. Spinel’s pigtails had come undone in her sleep and the collar of her nightgown seemed to have slipped down her shoulder slightly. Steven's cheeks reddened at once and his heart skipped a beat. He forced himself to look away, dropping his gaze back down to the maps. "Wh-what about you?"

Spinel frowned a bit. Now he wasn't even going to look at her? Why was he acting so strange? Before her long sleep, Steven was always so insistent on being close to her. He would unabashedly compliment her with a smile, and she would often catch him staring every now and then. Now he was refusing to sleep beside her and barely looking at her. "Could you help me get up," she asked, attempting to force his attention.

Steven flinched lightly. Though he was already nervous, he couldn't say no to Spinel. "S-sure," agreed Steven as he made his way over to the side of the bed, still having trouble looking directly at her, but offering her his hands.

Placing her hands in his, Spinel slowly shifted her aching legs over the side of the bed.

Noticing the pained expression on her face, Steven felt his nerves slip away. "Is it still too difficult to move? You don't have to force yourself."

Spinel shook her head. "It hurts a little, but it's not as bad as before. Besides, I don't just want to sit in bed all day. I have legs now; I no longer need to sit around on land."

Steven assisted in pulling her up onto her feet, only to once again feel his cheeks burn when Spinel was brought close to his chest. Though her legs were unsteady, Spinel was doing pretty well in staying upright. No doubt due to Steven's help.

Suddenly, the two were startled by a knock at the door, the surprise of it causing Spinel to lose focus and her legs folding beneath her. Steven reacted quickly, wrapping his arms around Spinel to keep her from falling over.

"Ah, thanks," breathed Spinel in relief, though a little embarrassed being held like this. It was only made worse when she glanced up to see his face. Steven was staring down at her with such concern, but his cheeks were tinted pink. Was he embarrassed too? At least he wasn't looking away like before. As they fell into silence once again, Spinel couldn't help but notice that Steven's eyes had changed. With a pink hue and diamond shaped pupils, they looked just as they did back at the camp after he disposed of all those guards. What did it mean? Without thinking, she reached up and placed her hand against his cheek, keeping her eyes locked with his.

As Spinel's fingers brushed his skin, Steven felt his heart skip once again. Though Spinel's gaze had become a bit curious, he didn't look away. Even if he knew he couldn't admit it aloud, that it would be for the best to bury these feelings that just seemed to keep growing, he was only human. When she was in his arms like this, he just couldn't bring himself to push her away. "Spinel...I—"

Just as Steven began to speak, there was another knock at the door, this time accompanied by a familiar voice. "Steven? Are you in there? I found that book you mentioned last time! I thought you might want to give it a read!"

Spinel and Steven turned their gaze towards the door now. Spinel frowned, glaring in the doors direction at the unwelcome sound of Elaine’s voice. This girl was terribly annoying.

Steven sighed, but knew it was probably for the best that he didn't get to say what he wanted. "...I should get the door," he stated before lowering Spinel to sit at the side of the bed.

As Steven was about to release her, Spinel felt a sense of panic. Steven's eyes were still not back to normal. If Elaine saw this, surely she would have questions. "W-wait," pleaded Spinel, gripping at his sleeves with burning cheeks. "Don't...don't go." Though Spinel told herself that this was for Steven's sake, a part of her knew that she just didn't want him to follow along with Elaine’s attempt to get his attention. She couldn't help feeling a little possessive. Why would Steven let her go so that he could speak with that girl?

Steven was sure his heart had stopped when Spinel asked him to stay. "I-I'm not going to leave. I was just gonna answer the door," he replied, trying to appear as if he were completely calm.

Spinel shook her head at once, "don't answer it. Just stay with me," she insisted stubbornly.

"You...what does that mean?" Steven asked now, unable to wrap his head around this. He didn't want to make any assumptions and upset her. Did she want him to hold her again? Was she just uncomfortable around Elaine because she was a human? Or maybe she felt unsafe when he wasn't close by because she couldn't properly stand up yet?

His question caused Spinel's entire face to turn scarlet and the disguised mermaid looked down at her lap as she clutched gently at his sleeves. "Y-you're mine," started Spinel, her voice shaking slightly. "You said...you'd help me. So you can't...I mean...you're..." Her voice trailed off when she started to hear exactly what she was saying. How could she say these things without thinking? "I-I mean, I know you don't—-it's not as if I own you. I just—-"

As Spinel stammered for some explanation for what she was saying, Steven cut her off by bending on one knee and leaning forward to wrap his arms around her once again. Even though Elaine knocked once again, neither of them seemed to hear it. Spinel forgot all at once what she was trying to say, especially when she felt his hand entangle in her hair, pressing his palm gently at the back of her head. Why was he being so affectionate with her after she had acted like a spoiled child? "Steven...?"

He was glad that Spinel couldn't see his troubled expression right now. Steven felt like such a hypocrite. Here he was just telling himself that he couldn't allow himself to feel anything for her, but one word from Spinel and he started to get his hopes up like an idiot. "Sorry. Can we just...stay like this for a moment?"

Spinel didn't say anything, but she nodded her head. Though he couldn't see her face, she prayed he wouldn't hear the sound of her heart. It was pounding so hard against her chest that Spinel was sure he must hear something. This was so confusing. A part of her wanted so much to ask him, but the other part was too afraid of being humiliated. Steven was nice to everyone, for all she knew, this level of affection was normal for him. Maybe he was like this with everyone? Perhaps she could ask something that wouldn't make her seem like she was jumping to conclusions on her own. "Steven, is this...this normal for you? I mean...you know...would you...hold...that Elaine girl...like this?" Though she did her best to phrase the question properly, it still came out awkward.

Steven had been nervous before Spinel mentioned Elaine for the second time. Though there could be several reasons why, Spinel was obviously jealous. He reluctantly pulled himself back to see her face, smiling as he met her eyes. "No. I wouldn't," he answered simply.

Spinel smiled back, but turned her head in hopes of hiding her expression. However, she'd caught a glimpse of Steven's eyes and doubled back to see that they had returned to normal. Thank goodness. "Can I...ask you one more question?" She asked, more serious now as she met his gaze once again.

"Of course," answered Steven.

"...do you know...what happened to all the guards back at the camp after they...nearly caught me?"

"Do you?" Steven asked in return, hoping that Spinel could fill the gaps in his memory. "The last thing I remember is confirming that you were safe. When I woke up...all the guards had been...murdered somehow." Steven's voice choked a bit near the end. No matter whom they were, killing someone was just too far. "...I buried them all at the campsite."

Spinel was quiet for a moment. So he didn't remember that blast of pink light, or how he'd made the ground crumble beneath him? Should she tell him? After all, Spinel knew exactly how those guards had died. She saw one hit the ground after the light hit him. He had dropped instantly and she could still see the blood that leaked from his eyes, nose, and mouth. "No..." Spinel lied, already feeling guilty for it. "I don't remember. ...there was just a pink light and that was it." In the end, Spinel didn't want Steven to carry the burden of murdering anyone. He was too kind and would surely hate himself or feel so guilty that he'd just blame himself over something he couldn't seem to control. If he couldn't remember doing it, she wasn't going to be the one to remind him of it.

"Oh, so it's the same for you," sighed Steven.

"M-maybe the Off Colors had some sort of magic set up," suggested Spinel, hoping to ease Steven's mind. "Like some sort of security measure against any humans that found the place."

"But then, why wasn't I hurt by it?"

"Y-you entered a binding contract. The magic of that spell probably protected you," answered Spinel quickly, praying that he would believe her.

Though Steven looked a tad skeptical at first, eventually he seemed to accept it. "I see. ...I should learn more about the magic that mermaid’s use I guess."

Spinel breathed an internal sigh of relief, but her quick answer suddenly reminded her that she still didn't know the terms of Steven's contract. "By the way..." she began, glancing at Steven curiously. “You never actually told me the terms of that Binding Spell."

"Oh? Um...well...it wasn't anything too serious." Steven replied, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck as he averted his eyes to the side.

"...okay, well what was it? What did you promise?" Spinel asked again, getting suspicious since he didn't seem willing to answer her straight away.

Steven sighed and returned his gaze to Spinel. He was indeed apprehensive in telling her the details. He didn't plan on keeping it to himself; he just knew that Spinel would be upset about it. After all, she was angry at him for just signing the contract in the first place. "...the conditions were that I'd be bound by my heart. If I betray you in any way...or you die under my care...my heart will stop."

Spinel's eyes grew wide and she shot up from the bed, albeit on poorly balanced legs. "Are you insane?!" She demanded. "You bet your **LIFE**?! What, being a traitor and a criminal wasn't enough for you?! Risking your life **JUST** by being around me wasn't enough?! You had to literally put your heart on the line under such vague conditions?! What constitutes a betrayal, Steven?! Who decides when you betray me?! Is there some stupid cosmic force that's gonna make a judgment call?! You're already in so much danger! Why do you have to constantly go so far?!"

"Sp-spinel, calm down. You're gonna fall," pleaded Steven, also worried about how loud she was shouting.

"Stop it," snapped Spinel. "Stop always putting me first! Is this why you've been so...affectionate with me?” She asked suddenly. “Did they actually bind your heart to mine in some way? Or since the spell tied your life to mine...you're feeling attached?" Her mind was racing and coming to all kinds of conclusions all on her own. Feeling like an idiot for thinking that Steven might actually be feeling something for her. It was probably all due to the Spell that bound his heart to her life.

"What?! No!" Steven replied quickly, getting to his feet and holding out his arms just in case Spinel fell over.

Spinel pushed against his chest in an attempt to show him that she didn't need him to fuss over her. However, she forgot how strong Steven was and how weak she had become now that she was in human form. When she tried to shove him away, she just ended up falling backward to sit on the bed and Steven didn't budge. Angry tears formed at the corner of her eyes. His heart is bound to her life, so of course he was probably confusing his feelings because he was connected to her now.   
“Gah, I feel so stupid! I let you risk your life **again**! You keep doing these things…as if you don’t care about your own safety! Why?! All I’ve ever been able to do is thank you for it! Now that you’re bound to my life…you’re only going to get worse!”

“Spinel, please, just calm down for one second,” he tried again. “Look, they weren’t going to let me stay with you if I didn’t sign that contract. Also, my heart may be bound to your life, but it has nothing to do with how I feel or act. It was **my** choice. I didn’t want to leave you, so I chose to bind myself. The terms didn’t matter to me at all because I knew I would never betray you or let you get hurt. I didn’t see this contract as changing anything. And I have **never** wanted anything in return from you. You know that.”

“You just don’t get it. You think it doesn’t change anything, but it changes everything. Steven, I…” Spinel stopped and took a breath, wiping the tears the threatened to trail down her cheeks. “You need to value your **own** life more. You can’t keep getting hurt or risking your life for me. How do you think it would make **me** feel if you died? You did this because you didn’t want to leave me alone…but if you died I’d be left alone anyway. Your life is important to me. For you to gamble it like this, I hate it. Wouldn’t you be upset if I did something similar for your sake?”

That stung a bit. Spinel was right. If he’d found out that she’d signed anything with her life at stake, he wouldn’t like it at all. It was a selfish decision on his part to sign that contract. He just didn’t want to be separated from her so soon. He really didn’t think it through.   
“…I’m sorry,” he began, getting down on one knee yet again. “I…should have spoken with you first. I was just worried you would force me to leave rather than sign it and stay. It was selfish of me.” He placed his palm at her cheek tenderly, urging Spinel to look his way.

“…yes it was…” replied Spinel, stubbornly keeping her gaze from his. “Every time I think I might understand you…you do things like this. And soon it will be even worse. Since you’ve bound yourself to my life…you might start feeling attached to me…and you might confuse those feelings for something else. Binding Magic is very strong after all.”

“Anything I might feel from now on will have nothing to do with some spell.” Steven insisted, feeling slightly offended that Spinel would suggest any affection he showed her would be solely due to some contract.

“...but we don’t know that for sure…” Spinel mumbled.

“Yes we do. I know you can’t really think that. Why are you so insistent about this?”

“Because…wouldn’t that mean…it wouldn’t be our fault?” Spinel suggested, finally looking his way. “I mean, if feelings started to change, it could be because of the spell and anything that happened wouldn’t be our fault…”

“**Our** fault?” Steven repeated, a little taken aback. Was she doing this on purpose? Was this her way of getting back at him for the contract? No, she wouldn’t go that far. The beginning of this day had been terribly confusing. “Spinel…you’re very special to me,” he decided it was fine to at least say that much, right? “If you really want to attribute that to some spell, then you can, but it’s not going to change anything.” As Steven slowly got to his feet, he paused for just a moment to kiss Spinel’s cheek before standing upright. “I need to go and wash up, do you need anything?”

Spinel stared up at Steven in silent shock, brushing her fingers lightly against her cheek where his lips had touched. All she could do was shake her head slowly in response and Steven smiled down at her before he headed for the washroom, shutting the door behind him, leaving a surprised and confused Spinel to sit alone. How was this happening? Was it really not because of the magic placed on him? If not, how had it happened so fast? Could she even come to terms with feelings like this? Steven was a human and she was eventually going back into the ocean. He couldn’t follow after her and she certainly couldn’t stay on land forever when humans were intent on hunting down her kind. Wouldn’t it be kinder to pretend nothing had changed between them? Still, after all this, it would be difficult to feign ignorance. Even if she wasn’t entirely certain of Steven’s thoughts on all this, she could no longer deny how she was feeling. It had happened all too quickly, but Spinel was falling for Steven and she didn’t know what to do about it.


	13. Two Paths

Steven finished washing up, but took his time in leaving the bathroom. The atmosphere felt so heavy now. Why had he said those things? It was like the feelings he tried to bottle kept spilling over. If it went on like this, he was surely going to say something soon that he couldn't take back.

With a heavy sigh, he left the washroom and was alarmed to see that Spinel was standing up on her own. Her arms were held out so that she could balance, but it appeared to be going well.

Spinel smiled when she spotted Steven, "look! I'm getting better at this," she exclaimed happily.

Steven smiled back, "do you want to try taking a few steps?"

Spinel seemed a bit apprehensive about that, but she nodded and put one foot in front of the other. It was harder than she thought it would be. Why was it so difficult to simply tell a limb what to do? She did appreciate however, that Steven wasn't rushing to hold her up. Though it took a moment, Spinel was able to take a few steps without any help before she tripped over her own foot and nearly fell forward.

Luckily, Steven caught her before she hit the ground. "That was great," he praised while helping Spinel back to her feet. "Do you feel any pain?"

"The pain gets a little better each day and I think my legs are finally becoming a bit sturdier." Spinel replied with a smile as she pulled away from Steven and stood on her own once again.

"I'm glad. Do you want to try and leave the room? I can see about getting a wheelchair or maybe-"

"-I'll just hang on like this," she insisted, taking his arm to keep her balance. "I'm sure I won't fall if I hang onto you."

Steven's heart jumped in his chest, but he did his best to remain calm. "O-okay. I'll make sure to walk slowly then, but if you're going to go out, you'll need to change your clothes."

Spinel had nearly forgotten about that. Mermaids didn't wear clothes, so of course it slipped her mind. "Oh right. I guess we should get some. Wait, where do you get this nightgown?"

"I bought it. I actually bought a dress for you too, and we still have the one that Connie gave us before we left."

Spinel sat back down on the bed as Steven showed her the dress he had bought for her. It appeared to be a simple summer dress. Black with a pink ruffled camisole attached that might cover her gem well enough. A baby pink ribbon was used to wrap under the bust and the sleeves reached the elbows before flaring out a bit, whereas the length of the dress went just past her knees. Spinel thought it looked pretty expensive, but she really didn't know how much anything cost around here. "It looks nice," she said finally, mostly flattered that Steven had picked it out for her.

"Perfect," replied Steven with a smile as he handed her the dress. "I'll just wait in the washroom while you change."

Spinel held up the dress, certain that it would be easy enough to figure out. She waited until Steven had closed the door to the restroom before changing her clothes. Luckily the dress was not complicated. Once she was changed, Spinel called out for Steven so that they could finally leave this room. He helped her put on some black flats that he bought for her as well and Spinel quickly tied up her hair back in pigtails.

"Are you ready, my lady?" Steven asked as he offered Spinel his arm.

She blushed lightly, but got to her feet and took his arm. "Just remember to walk slowly."

"Of course. That dress looks lovely on you by the way. I think black suits you." Steven commented as they walked together out the door.

Spinel's cheeks burned once more, but before she could say anything, her foot tapped against something on the floor. Looking down, it was a book. No doubt the one that Elaine was trying to give Steven this morning.

Steven was careful about leaning down without forcing Spinel to go with him and snatched up the book, reading the small note attached to it aloud.

"Sorry I missed you this morning. I found this book in my grandmother’s things and you had mentioned it before, so I hope you like it."

Spinel sighed, "So now she's just giving you her family's stuff?"

"I'm sure Elaine is just going to let me borrow it. Look," replied Steven as he held up the book to show Spinel the cover. "Mermaid Legends."

"...what does that mean?" Spinel asked.

"Let's get down to the Tavern before we get into that. I'm starving."

"Oh! Right! I forgot that you needed to eat, I'm sorry," stammered Spinel.

It was slow going, but eventually they made it downstairs to the tavern. Because of the heavy rain outside, it wasn't too packed. Not many people wanted to leave their homes it seemed. Steven was grateful for this. He had actually been worried that Spinel might feel anxious with too many humans around. There were only a couple guests from the Inn and one tall woman in the corner that he didn't recognize as being another patron.

Steven gently helped Spinel to a chair, making sure she was comfortable before he took his own seat across from her at the small circular wooden table. Spinel wasn't sure what to do here, but she was actually a little excited. Even if it was with Steven's help, she had used her own legs to get here. They would be able to see and do so much more now. However, Spinel's good mood was soured once she saw Elaine rushing over to their table with an eager smile, clearly aimed at Steven.

"Steven! You actually came down to eat? Oh, and you got the book. That's great, I uh, stopped by this morning, but you were probably still sleeping or something..." Elaine greeted happily, trying to hide the fact that she was a little worried about what he and Spinel were doing when she knocked at the door.

"He was pretty tired," Spinel added as she glanced up at Elaine, annoyed that she had completely ignored her.

"Oh, um, good morning, Spinel...it's good to see you up and about." Elaine replied awkwardly.

Steven glanced between the two girls, not really sure it was safe to say anything. Though he was certain that Elaine didn't feel anything for him, he knew that Spinel was a little possessive and could have a sharp tongue at times. Not that he minded, but he didn't want to start any trouble with the Inn Keepers daughter, lest they get kicked out.

"U-uh, yes, thank you for letting me borrow it. Once I heard about it, it seemed really interesting." Steven interrupted. "I'll make sure to return it once I've finished."

With her attention back on Steven, Elaine smiled, "oh, don't worry about it. It's an old book and no one has touched it in a long time. I'm just glad that I could find it for you. Now, would you like me to get you and your **friend** some breakfast? My mother's hot cakes are really good."

Spinel bristled at Elaine’s words. She couldn't help noticing that this girl always emphasized that she and Steven were friends. Spinel just couldn’t believe how brazen Elaine was to flirt with him while she sat right there.

"Hot cakes are a little sweet for me. I'll just have something simple," Steven answered, noting the irritated expression on Spinel’s face. He made his order quickly and was hoping that Elaine wouldn't linger around and make Spinel’s mood worse.

Once Elaine went back to the kitchen, Steven felt a huge sense of relief. That is, until he heard a loud crash that pulled his attention to Elaine, who appeared to have dropped a large tray of glasses, she was attempting to bring back to the kitchen with her. Almost on reflex, Steven stood from his seat and rushed over to help. He was never the type to sit back when someone needed a hand.

Spinel wanted to protest before Steven walked away, but how would it look if she demanded he stay instead of helping someone? It wasn't like she didn't want him to be nice; she just didn't want him to be nice to a girl that was clearly sniffing around him like a love struck puppy. Besides, part of her was certain that Elaine had dropped that tray on purpose.

Almost immediately after Steven left to help Elaine, the tall stranger from the corner had taken his seat. The woman was wearing a long hooded cloak that had been soaked from the rain outside and her eyes were covered by a simple cloth. Spinel wondered if the dark skinned woman was blind and sat down by mistake.

"Um-Excuse me, I think—"

"-I don't have the wrong table." Interjected the woman, her voice soft and her tone rather stoic, with an accent Spinel had never heard before. "I'm here to give you a message."

Spinel gripped the handles of her chair, readying herself to run if need be. She really couldn't afford to trust anyone but Steven right now.

"Don't be alarmed. My name is Garnet...and I'm a lot like you, Spinel." Garnet was silent as she pulled her hand out from beneath her cloak and removed a black glove, revealing a blue Gem embedded in her palm.

Spinel gasped, but quickly covered her mouth with her hand, so the few people around wouldn't take notice and get curious.

"...I see..." Spinel sighed finally. "...but I've never heard of a Garnet..."

"Let's just say...I'm something entirely new," Garnet replied with a smile as she slipped her glove back on. "But I don't have a lot of time. So please listen. You two must go to Roses Fountain." Garnet stated simply.

"...but that's in the capital," began Spinel. "That's basically home base for everyone that wants me on a slab," she finished in a hushed voice, glancing around to make sure no one was listening in.

"It's your only chance of getting what you want. In the Capital, all your questions will be answered."

Spinel flinched lightly. Garnet spoke as if she knew the future, but only a few mermaids could do that, and they were well known for it. She’d never heard of a Garnet type Mermaid that could do this. “How do you—“

"—-that's not important," demanded Garnet as she continued, reaching across the table to take Spinel’s hands. "He thinks it's his job to protect you, but fate brought you two together for a greater purpose. That boy is more powerful than anyone realizes. On this journey, there are two paths open to you both. At the end of one of them, Steven will lose his life...and his death will lead to devastation like you've never seen before."

Spinel's heart stopped for a moment. Steven was going to die? How? Why? Did Garnet know about Steven's pink light? That had to be what she meant. “Y-you're lying, you have to be lying!" Spinel insisted in a hushed panic.

Garnet shook her head sadly, "it's important that you stay with him. Soon, Steven will learn things about himself. Things that will change his life forever, and when that happens...he'll need you. You'll need each other. Keep him calm, keep him safe. His power is growing every day now that he's been touched by magic. Soon, he won't be able to contain it. You have to be there. You're the only one that can help him now."

"Touched by Magic? You mean the binding spell?"

Again, Garnet shook her head. "No. You. Mermaids are Magic. When he met you, his own power began to grow faster. Faster than anyone had planned.”

Spinel couldn't help feeling anxious now. So what happened to Steven was all her fault? The reason he killed those guards, which was so against his nature, was all because he had the bad luck to meet her? "So...he would have been fine...if we never met..." she whispered solemnly.

"No. You two met for this exact purpose. Listen, one path may lead to a terrible future, but the other...might lead to a change in this world for the better." Garnet released Spinel’s hand and stood from her seat as she noticed Steven was finished with helping Elaine. "I have to go. Oh, and one last thing, you shouldn't be so afraid of your feelings. Love can live through anything, you know. I’ll see you again." With that, Garnet walked away without another word, leaving Spinel alone and terribly perplexed.

"Who was that?" Steven asked in a bit of a panic when he returned to the table, just catching Garnet leaving the Tavern to disappear into the heavy rain. Why was some stranger speaking to Spinel? Did the

Steven's voice shook Spinel from her inner thoughts and she immediately panicked. "Uh-um, she was just…asking for directions. I…I told her that I didn’t live here…so she left to find someone else.”

"Are you okay? Did she say something to upset you?" Steven asked, noting the pale hue of Spinel’s face.

Spinel looked up at Steven and plastered on a smile. "I'm fine,” she lied again, but what else could she do? Spinel didn't know if that woman was telling the truth, but either way, it would do no good repeating her words to Steven. Why did he have to know if it could be a lie? Wasn't keeping this from Steven better for his well being? It would just make him worry for no reason. Besides, Garnet's plea that Spinel protect him was unnecessary. She didn't plan on letting him shoulder all the danger himself. Even if Garnet's words turned out to be true, there was no way Spinel would let Steven die. This journey was not going to be his end. She would make sure of that.

Steven wasn’t convinced. He was starting to notice a pattern with Spinel. With all her insistence that he be more careful, he wished she would be a little more honest. He could tell that on several occasions she had lied to him, which made him wonder what the truth was and why she felt the need to lie about it. Either way, he didn’t plan to call her out on it. At least not for now.


	14. Rose's Fountain

Though Spinel insisted there was nothing wrong, Steven couldn't help but notice her eyes on him during breakfast. That or she'd stare off into the distance, clearly distracted by her own thoughts. That woman must have said something to upset her, but he couldn't figure out what it might have been. If she was somehow discovered to be a Mermaid, he was sure she wouldn't keep that to herself. Though he had no idea what else it might be. "Okay, I wasn't going to say anything, but you're obviously—-"

Just as Steven began to question Spinel, Elaine made her way to their table with her usual beaming smile towards Steven. Though instead of Spinel being annoyed, now it was Steven's turn. He was irritated that by dropping the glasses, he had gone to help her and left Spinel alone with that stranger. And now she was interrupting when he wanted to ask something important. He knew it wasn't her fault, he was just mad at himself.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" Elaine asked, once again ignoring Spinel and directing her attention solely on Steven.

"Yes, thank you," replied Steven, still trying to be polite despite his irritability.

"...I wanted to thank you for your help earlier," continued Elaine. "I can be clumsy at times, but I've never dropped so much before."

"I'll bet you haven't," chided Spinel, finally paying attention to the conversation.

Elaine blushed a bit, mostly embarrassed by the implication. "W-why I'm sure I don't know what you mean. But I am bound to get in trouble if I don't replace the tableware..." she added, glancing at Steven yet again. "I was hoping that you might accompany me to the market? I couldn't possibly carry all that back by myself and it would be a big help."

Steven had no plans to leave Spinel alone again, but before he could refuse her, Spinel startled him and Elaine both by slamming her hands against the table and getting to her feet.

"I've had enough," she hissed, leering at Elaine. "Stop sniffing around Steven. He's not interested."

Elaine felt her cheeks burn further. She wasn't prepared to be called out like this in front of Steven. "Y-you—you have the wrong idea, I—-I just needed someone stronger to help me carry my purchases. And besides, I don't see how that's any business of yours. You may be Steven's **friend**, but—-"

"He's **mine**!" Spinel insisted with another pound at the table. "And I'm not gonna let you, or some stupid destiny take him!"

"Destiny? What are you even saying?" Elaine asked, confused by the last bit, but becoming more adamant in standing her ground now. "I don't recall Steven referring to you as his lover or anything."

Steven wasn't sure what to do here. Normally, he would try to defuse the situation, but if he was the one they were arguing about, wouldn't that just make it worse? Still, he couldn't just sit here and watch as it escalated.

"O-okay, maybe we should go back to our room?" Steven suggested, placing his money on the table and leaving his seat to reach Spinel.

It was only when Steven placed a hand on her shoulder, did Spinel realize what she had done and said. Of course she was embarrassed, but it's not like she could take anything back anyway. She had so much on her mind thanks to that Garnet woman and the last thing she wanted to deal with was Elaine.

"Steven, I'm sorry if I caused some sort of trouble..." began Elaine timidly. "I didn't mean to upset your **friend**. Maybe we should talk somewhere else and straighten this out?"

"Ah, no, I think Spinel is just tired. She's only just recovered and it's been stressful for her. I'll just take her back to the room so she can relax." He was hoping to end this without causing more fuss between them. Steven didn't like anyone fighting, especially when one of them could toss them out after being offended. It would probably be best to move on soon and go to another town.

Spinel wanted to say more, but she could tell that Steven was trying to calm everything down. She didn't want to ruin it. Turning a bit, Spinel hugged Steven's arm and exhaled in a huff.

Elaine glowered at Spinel when she clung to Steven. She initially thought that Spinel was a sickly girl that would be too meek to put up a fuss, but now it seemed she would have to deal with this differently. "...well, I hope that you're able to get some rest. Sorry again for upsetting you."

Spinel only pouted, refusing to say anything more. If she opened her mouth again, Spinel was positive nothing good would come from it. Steven thanked Elaine once more for the food and led Spinel back to their room as quickly as he could. Once safely behind the door, Steven breathed a sigh of relief.

"...I know you don't like her much, but you shouldn't pick a fight. If you actually make her mad, she could have her dad kick us out."

Spinel released Steven's arm and stepped away, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout. "We just don't have time for some girl and her stupid crush," insisted Spinel.

"And I agree with you. I'd just like to keep this room until you can walk properly. I don't want you to overdo it and hurt yourself," replied Steven.

"I'm standing just fine now! We can leave any time. I say we leave in the morning. I can spend a night in the tub to make sure my body is in perfect shape."

Steven was at a loss. Spinel’s moods shifted so quickly and when she was upset like this, it was difficult to divert her attention. "Okay, okay, just try to be quiet. These walls aren't that thick you know," urged Steven.

"...fine." Relented Spinel eventually. Perhaps she had made a bigger deal out of it then need be, but the problem with Elaine distracted her from thinking about the much larger problem. She didn't want to think about Steven dying. Spinel wanted to think about something else, ANYTHING else.

"Here, why don't we go over that book I—oh great, I left it downstairs..." he groaned. "Stay right here, I'll go and grab it."

"Wait, why do you even need that book?"

"It had information on Roses Fountain. I think that's where we should go next, but I'll explain more when I get the book back. It was supposed to have some local legends about the fountain." Steven explained as he turned for the door.

Spinel felt her heart sink like a stone at the mention of the fountain. Garnet said that's where they had to go, but what if that's where Steven got hurt? What if that's where he...died? "W-wait! We can't go there!" Spinel shouted in a panic.

Steven stopped and turned to glance at Spinel's desperate expression. He had expected her to be upset about heading for the Capital, but her eyes suggested that she was scared of something more than just the humans there. "Is there something I should know about the fountain?"

Spinel flinched, realizing she spoke up without thinking. She quickly clasped her hands over her mouth and shook her head. "I just...I don't want to go to the Capital," she answered finally, unable to look Steven in the eye.

"Is that all," asked Steven with a raised brow. "Because if it has something to do with that stranger earlier, you can tell me."

Spinel shook her head quickly, "it doesn't! Why do I need a reason to be afraid of the Capital? That place has advanced technology and is full of soldiers that only hunt mermaids! Taking a mermaid there is as good as selling me off!" She tried to deflect Steven's suspicion with some actual concerns about going to the Capital, but before she could continue, Steven rushed to her and clamped his hand over her mouth.

"You really can't say those things!" Steven insisted in an urgent whisper. "Someone might hear you!"

Spinel nodded, waiting until Steven removed his hand to continue. "I just don't want to go there. There's no point."

"I know it might seem scary, but I have been looking into it and it seems like that's the best way to help you. It's considered a holy place in the Capital, but no humans can get near it. They say that it's because the royal family protects it, but there have been a lot of rumors and legends about Mermaids disappearing there."

"Because they probably followed the same Mermaid tale that you’re spouting and got themselves killed. I know about Roses Fountain too. It's just a story. Something to make Merbabies feel better."

"Well, why don't you tell me what you know? It might be different from the human version of the story." Steven suggested as he sat down at the little table.

Spinel hesitated. What if this only made him want to go more? She sat down opposite of him and sighed. "Roses Fountain is what they called this waterfall that fell from seemingly nowhere. It was considered a sacred place for Mermaids. A place of healing and sanctuary. It's said that, if a mermaid reaches the fountain, she can return home."

"Return home?" Steven repeated.

Spinel nodded her head, "yes. Some Mermaids insisted that we were never meant to be here. That this world always belonged to the humans. The legend goes that a mermaid saw the human world through magic and fell in love with a human man. She found a way to speak with him through the connected waters, but eventually despaired knowing they could never be together. She cried for days and her tears created the waterfall that connected the two worlds. She used the last of her power to give herself legs and live with the human on land. However, with the worlds connected, more and more mermaids came to this world and humans could visit the Mermaids world by climbing to the top of the waterfall. The humans, who were once delighted by the Mermaids display of power, began to want it for themselves. They started to hunt the mermaids and...it was thought that if you ate the heart of one...you'd live forever. Watching in despair over the danger she had brought to her own kind, the Mermaid went back to the fountain and made one last wish in tears. She wished for the connection to be sealed, but since she had little to no magic left, she offered her life.

When her body disappeared, the mermaids found that her wish had come true. Humans could no longer go near the fountain, and though Mermaids could no longer come here, they could still return home if they managed to reach the waterfall. It's said that in her mourning, the Mermaids spirit protects that place, keeping humans from entering and guiding the remaining Mermaids home.

There's no one alive that can confirm the story is true anymore. The only constant, is that the Mermaids name was Rose. Hence, Roses fountain."

"And you never wondered if it was true? I mean, look," Steven began with renewed energy as he pulled out a map from his bag and unfurled it over the table. "The Capital practically surrounds the fountain in a crescent shape. Do you think that's a coincidence? They built up all their defenses around it, no doubt to keep any mermaids from reaching it. It can't just a legend. Why else would they guard it so fiercely"

Spinel looked down at the map, amazed at how the human had grown and changed in the last few thousand years. They had nearly covered the entire continent. That only made her anxiety worse. The two of them were sorely outnumbered just being here in the outskirts, but the Capital was so vast. "...and you've never been to the Capital?"

"No. My dad said he performed there once, but that's all I know. I was raised in that small village and I'd never left there until now."

Spinel was a little lost on the concept of parents. Mermaids had no parents or anything in the way of family. They just had their tribes. "Your dad...is he a lot like you?" Spinel asked, finding herself a little curious. "Did you...leave him a note or anything before you left?"

Steven laughed a little, "Ah, there was no need for that. My dad...left home four years ago...and I haven't seen him since."

"Oh. I didn't mean to-um—what about your mom?" Spinel asked quickly in an attempt to redirect their talk to something happier.

"I never met her. My dad said that she died giving birth to me," answered Steven.

Spinel stiffened up. She'd just stepped on two land mines in a row. "W-well, you—-I'm sure she—-" fumbling for the right words, Spinel wasn't sure what to say now. Surely she'd upset him, how could she make it better?

Steven chuckled a bit and reached over to take her hand. "It's okay, Spinel. I'm okay. I had friends back home...and now I'm here with you."

"...Connie was your closest friend, wasn't she?" Spinel asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, my dad said I was really sick as a baby, so I had a lot of visits to the doctor, Connie’s mother. So we played together a lot."

Spinel wished now that they didn't have to leave that village in such a hurry. Connie seemed nice in retrospect, but she really didn't trust humans. Only Steven now. "It would be nice...if I could actually meet her properly one day."

Steven's eyes lit up, "really?! She'd be so excited just to know that you said that. Connie was always trying to find information about mermaids. Her mom pretty much forbid it though."

Spinel was glad to see the smile back on his face It was odd. She hated Elaine for being around him, but Steven spoke so happily about Connie and she didn't feel angry at all. However, she couldn't help being a little envious. They had spent so much time together and her time with Steven was becoming more limited by the day. It was nice to pretend that maybe this wouldn't end in a heart wrenching goodbye. "Then I...when I see her again, I'll just endure it and let her ask me all kinds of annoying questions..." replied Spinel, staring down at the map, trying to rid her mind of all this doubt and fear. She wanted to go home. She hated humans. So why was Steven so different? Why was it that the more time passed, even if only a little, she didn't want him to let go of her hand?

"Do you still want to leave in the morning?" Steven asked quietly, still afraid that someone might hear them.

Spinel didn't answer right away. Instead, she stared at the map where Steven had circled the fountains location. Garnet said they had to go there, Peridot had shouted something about the Capital before she left, and no matter how hard she wanted to deny it, Spinel felt compelled to go as well. "...yes. I want to leave as soon as possible."

"Well, we don't know what the rain will do to you, so we had better wait until it stops, but I'll go and see about getting some transportation. I think I heard Elaine mention a train station nearby. I should have asked for a more local map..." Steven thought aloud, wondering if they could get on the train without any identification. Standing from his seat, Steven turned for the door once more, "I'll run down and get directions to the train station, if it's close I can run and get some tickets too. Will you be okay up here on your own?"

Honestly, Spinel didn't like being alone, but since she couldn't go out in this rain, she didn't want to slow things down. "I...can you help me fill the tub before you leave? I'd feel better in the water..."

Steven didn't really like the idea of leaving Spinel alone either, but he did feel a bit better knowing she could move on her own now. He did as he was asked and filled the tub with water before he headed for the door once again. "Okay...so...are you sure you'll be alright? We can always get the tickets tomorrow."

Spinel leaned against the washroom door with a smile, "as long as you come back quickly, I'll be okay."

Steven was still apprehensive. "...keep the door locked and don't answer it to anyone. And if you get scared or think someone's trying to get in, lock yourself in the bathroom, and—-"

"—-Steven," interrupted Spinel, "I'm just going to sit in the tub until you come back. I'm sure it will be okay."

He was sure Spinel was right, but it didn't calm his nerves. He stepped towards her and quickly leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I'll be right back," he said softly before finally forcing himself to leave the room.

Spinel was left alone, her cheek still warm where Steven had kissed her. She felt that familiar tug at her heart. He really wasn’t being fair. Though, it did force Spinel to recall that Garnet had told her not to be afraid of her feelings. With this is in mind, Spinel walked slowly into the washroom to undress and relax in the water.


	15. Exposed?

As Steven left the Inn to buy some train tickets and Spinel gathered her thoughts in the tub, Elaine was cleaning the tables in the Tavern, noticing quickly that Steven had left the book she gave him behind. With a defeated sigh, she took it in her hands and headed for the other side of the Inn where her brother was looking over the accounts from last night. Unlike Elaine, her brother had sun kissed skin from working outside, but their hair and eyes were quite similar, it was easy to tell they were siblings.

“Isn’t that the book you begged Dad to give you,” asked her brother as he glanced away from his work. “And didn’t you give it to that patron you have a crush on?”

“N-Not yet,” lied Elaine with a blush across her cheeks. “I was actually thinking of giving it to him right now.”

Her brother chuckled under his breath. “I don’t know why you’re being so persistent about this. Didn’t that guy check in **with** his lover? You’re clearly barking up the wrong tree.”

“Shut up, Allen,” snapped Elaine. “He never said they were lovers. …besides, there is something really strange about that girl and she’s got such a temper. Why would Steven want to be with someone like that? Compared to someone as vulgar as her, I think I would be a much better match for him. Besides, since he helped you and Father with the broken fence post, our parents already like him.”

“You do know that you sound a little crazy, right? I mean, you really think he’s just going to dump that girl and stay here with you forever? He’s just passing through. I mean, he said himself that he was only planning on staying here until that girl got better. Now that she’s better, they’re leaving.”

“Leaving?! What do you mean,” Elaine asked in a panic as she gripped the book to her chest.

“I overheard a customer giving him directions to the train station. He’s probably on his way to get tickets out of town.”

“D-did they leave together?”

“How should I know? I’m not the one stalking him.” Allen teased.

“Give me the key to room three,” demanded Elaine with an outstretched hand.

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“I—well if they left together, I can replace the sheets and towels.”

“…and leave a little love letter or something?” Allen sighed. “Don’t you think that’s a little pathetic?”

“J-just give me the key.” Elaine demanded once again.

With a sigh, Allen handed his little sister the spare key. “Just don’t do anything stupid,” he pleaded, really only half joking.

Elaine didn’t bother replying to her brother. She simply rushed off to gather some sheets and towels. All she could do now was go for broke. She didn’t know much about Spinel, but Elaine was certain that she wouldn’t lose in comparison. All she had to do was get Steven alone. If she could tempt him just a little, everything would surely go her way. It wasn’t her best plan, but she was running out of time. With this in mind, Elaine let herself into Steven’s room. A part of her was disappointed to find that Steven and Spinel had really left together. Why was he so attached to that girl? Still, Elaine changed the sheets and wrote a note for Steven, she then placed the book on the bed and headed for the washroom to put some clean towels near the tub.

When she opened the door to the washroom, the last thing Elaine ever expected to see was a pink, pigtailed Mermaid, who seemed just as surprised to see her at the door. Spinel had heard someone enter the room, but she assumed it was Steven.

With a horrified gasp, Elaine dropped the towels in hand, uncertain what to do from here. She had heard of Mermaids before, but who would have guessed she would ever be confronted with one.   
“Y-You—I knew there was something weird about you! You’re a monster!!” Elaine exclaimed in a mix of fear and anger. She quickly turned around to dash from the room and alert the authorities, but she slipped on one of the towels at her feet and hit her head against the wall, knocking herself out cold.

Spinel was speechless. At first, she was terrified over being exposed, but now she was just shocked that Elaine had passed out without any interference. Still, she didn't have time to be amused over Elaine's mistake. Lifting herself from the bath, Spinel's legs reformed, and she rushed over to Elaine's slumped body. Without a second thought, Spinel stood and slammed her fist against the mirror, shattering the glass. She winced in pain as small pieces cut into her skin, but she didn't have time to care. She couldn't summon her scythe as a human so she needed something to defend herself with when Elaine woke up. Grabbing a large shard of glass, Spinel turned Elaine over to see her face. She didn't appear to be bleeding, so she wasn't in any danger. "...you just keep finding new ways to make me mad..." muttered Spinel as she pushed Elaine's limp body from the washroom floor, out into the main room.

While Spinel was dealing with a crisis back at the Inn, Steven had only just finished purchasing the tickets for their trip to the Capital. It was a long ride and the train was always expensive since it was powered by sorcery, but it was the fastest way to get there.

With his task done, he wanted to hurry back and see Spinel. It made him terribly anxious to leave her alone. Even if she could move around better now, something just didn't feel right. As Steven rushed back towards the Inn, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right hand, as if something had cut him. Steven stopped and examined his hand, but saw nothing wrong. As he looked over his skin curiously, he was all at once overcome with a single thought. Spinel was in trouble. He couldn't explain it; Steven just knew that he had to get back right away.

He didn't know how long it took him to get there, but clearly it wasn't fast enough. Steven had returned to their room, panting for breath as he stood in the doorway, staring wide eyed at the scene in front of him. There was a trail of blood drops that led to the bed where Spinel was attempting to drop Elaine onto the bare mattress after she had taken the fresh sheets to cover her naked body in a hurry.

Spinel froze in place as Elaine slipped from her arms and flopped onto the bed. "This-this looks worse than it is." Spinel stated quickly.

Steven shut the bedroom door, completely speechless. What exactly had happened while he was away? "Wh-who...what—" he stammered as panic began to set in.

With Elaine on the bed, Spinel rushed over to Steven, her legs aching as she moved. "She came in while you were gone and saw me in the tub," began Spinel in an urgent whisper. "She knocked herself out when she tripped on a towel."

"You’re bleeding!" Steven exclaimed in concern when he looked down to see blood trickling from Spinel’s right hand.

"I needed something sharp," explained Spinel as if it were normal.

"O-okay, we need to think..." Steven breathed, taking her hand and trying to ignore the fact that she was only covered by a thin sheet. He needed to decide what to do when Elaine woke up. He hurried to their bags and pulled out some bandages for Spinel’s hand. "Let me wrap up those cuts."

"What should we do," asked Spinel as calmly as possible, sitting herself down at the table as Steven kneeled in front of her and gently took her hand to bandage the slowly bleeding wounds.

Truthfully, Steven had no idea. He wasn’t sure how Elaine was going to react when she woke up. Would she keep their secret for nothing? “When she saw you…how did she--?”

“—she called me a monster,” answered Spinel before he could finish.

Steven glanced up at Spinel, sure that she had been hurt by Elaine’s words. He placed a gentle kiss over her bandaged palm before getting to his feet. How could anyone look at her and see anything that resembled a monster? “You should go and get dressed. We may have to leave in a hurry. I’m going to check on Elaine.”

Spinel nodded and made her way to the washroom once more. Taking special care of her the hand that Steven had wrapped up. Elaine called her a monster and that always stung, but without a single word, Steven had erased that. She wasn’t sure how they were going to get out of this, but she was prepared to do her worst if this went too far south.

While Spinel got changed, Steven sat by the bed and tried to think things through, though he didn’t get a lot of time before Elaine began to stir.

“Ug…wha…?” Elaine mumbled, terribly disorientated as she sat up in the unfamiliar bed.

Steven watched her cautiously. He didn’t want to say anything until he figured out just how much Elaine actually saw. The brunette rubbed her temple and adjusted her blurry vision as she looked around, only to panic once she saw Steven’s face.

“Ah! Steven…?” At first she was confused, but when her memory suddenly came back to her, Elaine panicked and scrambled from the bed to grab Steven’s hand in an attempt to pull him from the room. “Steven! That girl is a monster! We have to get out of here!”

Spinel left the bathroom in a hurry when she heard Elaine shout, but when she came out, Elaine froze, completely confused. Spinel looked just as she did this morning. Once Steven noticed the baffled expression on Elaine’s face, he came up with an idea.   
“Elaine, you probably shouldn’t get up so soon. You had a pretty bad fall and hit your head,” Steven insisted quickly.

“…wha…no. I saw her! She’s not human,” shouted Elaine again.

“But…she **is** human,” he pointed out, gesturing to Spinel with a smile. “See?”

“N-NO! Steven, she is a Mermaid! She was in the tub and she had a tail! Steven, you have to believe me! She’s tricking you! She’s using some—some—sort of magic on you!”

“Well, I knew you didn’t like me, but to insinuate that I need magic to keep Steven by my side is ridiculous.” Spinel chided.

Elaine felt like she was going crazy. She had clearly seen Spinel as a Mermaid. Steven must have been bewitched by her somehow and that’s why he didn’t believe her. She had to get out of here and warn her family. Without bothering to try and convince Steven again, Elaine shouted for her brother and father as she ran from the room.

Spinel expected Steven to grab her, but when he didn’t, she followed his lead and allowed her to leave.   
“…what…exactly are we doing?” Spinel asked anxiously as she walked over to Steven, unsure what to do.

“Just deny everything,” Steven insisted urgently. “No matter what she says, she can’t prove anything. If we can just convince her family that she imagined the whole thing until tomorrow morning, we’ll be out of here and it won’t matter. She hit her head, who’s to say that she didn’t dream it all up?”

Spinel was honestly surprised that Steven was willing to lie. He was always so honest. It seemed like a simple enough plan, but could they pull it off? Lars said that the humans would be fooled by these Gems and Peridot said that she’d lived among humans for years. Perhaps they wouldn’t have any way to prove she was a mermaid.

It didn’t take too long for Elaine to return with her Father and Brother, both rather panicked and confused over Elaine’s allegations. Even more bewildered when they caught sight of Spinel, who looked nothing like a Mermaid.

Allen sighed almost at once, “Elaine…what the hell is this about?”

“She’s a Mermaid! I swear! I saw her in the bathroom! She had a tail; she looked like this…disgusting fish! She’s used some kind of magic on Steven and—“

Spinel decided that if she was going to lie to make this work, she may as well go for broke.   
“She keeps calling me those awful things…” Spinel whimpered as she hugged Steven’s arm.

“I’m sorry, Steven, but what’s going on here?” Allen asked irately as Elaine was trying to convince her father in the hallway to restrain Spinel.

“Elaine hit her head when she fell in the bathroom and when she woke up she started to insult Spinel.” Steven answered, not entirely lying. He was getting pretty upset with Elaine for continuing to say those awful things about Spinel. “I think she had a weird dream.”

Allen groaned, “You fell in the bathroom? Let me see your head.” Her brother demanded, only serving to outrage Elaine.

“You’re taking HER side?! I’m telling you! She’s a monster!! We have to catch her and—and I didn’t fall, she attacked me!” Elaine lied now, angry that her pleas were falling on deaf ears.

“What is **wrong** with you?!” Spinel snapped. “You slipped on a towel and smacked your head against the wall!!”

“You tried to kill me because I saw your true form and you can’t enchant me like the men! Father, you have to trust me! Please! She’s got Steven under some spell and she already tried to hurt me!”

Elaine’s father seemed conflicted. He didn’t want to completely disregard his daughter’s desperate attempts to convince him that something was wrong. “Elaine…I want to believe you, but as you can see…the girl has legs. She’s a human. …and I can see the bump on your head.”   
He turned to Steven and Spinel as Allen began to force Elaine from the room, the girl still shouting in protest down the hall.   
“I’m so sorry about all this. Please don’t think too terribly of her, she must have hit her head pretty hard. I’ve never seen her so panicked before. She was actually just asking me about this old book we have on Mermaids. That must be why she thought she saw one. I’ll refund your money for the room and um…I’ll make sure my daughter apologizes once she gets a little rest.”

Elaine could hear her father apologizing as Allen led her down the stairs. How could no one believe her? She knew exactly what she saw. Fine, if they all wanted to believe that she was crazy, she would have to prove it herself, but she had to do it before that monster took Steven away in the morning.


	16. Don't Say It

Steven and Spinel waited several minutes in cautious silence after everyone had left, making sure that none of them came running back into the room. When it seemed they were in the clear, Spinel barely had time to smile before Steven wrapped his arms around her, practically lifting her from the ground as he swung her around with a joyful grin. "My Stars, I was so worried about you!" Steven exclaimed as quietly as possible given his excitement.

"I was worried too," Spinel admitted in a hushed voice, simply allowing herself to lean into the embrace. "I'm so glad she hit her head."

Steven laughed lightly and released Spinel, letting her feet touch the floor once again. "I'm never leaving you alone again."

With a blush, Spinel glanced towards the washroom, "I—I handled it."

"You smashed your hand against a mirror," he reminded her before taking her injured hand gently between his own.

"I wanted to be prepared," Spinel explained again.

Steven stared down at Spinel’s bandages. With the dust settled, he finally had a moment to think. Spinel had injured her right hand and just before he sprinted back to the Inn, he'd felt a sharp pain in his right hand without any cause. Did he somehow feel it when she hurt herself? Perhaps that binding spell did connect them in some way. Not that he was keen on mentioning this. After all, Spinel would only use this fact as more ammo to insist that his feelings weren't his own.

"Steven...it was just a few cuts. It doesn't hurt." Spinel tried to reassure him, worried that he was blaming himself again.

"You're beautiful," stated Steven suddenly.

Spinel flinched, her heart jumping against her chest at once. "Wh-that was sudden," she pointed out, quite aware that Steven was still holding onto her injured hand.

"I hated it. Every time she insulted you, I felt sick. I wish you didn't have to hear those things."

Glancing up at Steven's face, he looked truly troubled. "I'm used to it. Most humans are afraid so they lash out. ...it's not like I forgive them or anything I just don't expect to hear any different."

"Then...I'll say it more than you've ever heard anything hateful," he insisted.

"Steven, you don't have to—-"

Spinel was cut off when Steven lifted her hand to his lips, planting gentle kisses against her bandaged skin. Her heart stopped and she could feel her cheeks burning at once.

"You're beautiful," he said once more.

With a nervous smile, Spinel averted her gaze off to the side. She could feel the heat of his breath against her skin as he spoke and each kiss sent shivers bristling down her back. This really wasn't good for her heart. "Th-thank you..." she replied finally, hoping that accepting the compliment would make him happy.

It did. Steven smiled and slowly released her hand, but didn't turn away. Instead, he stepped forward a bit closer and reached over to place his own hand against her cheek, feeling the heat of her flushed face against his palm. "You're gorgeous," added Steven before leaning in and kissing her cheek just as he did before he left earlier.

Spinel's breath hitched lightly. His words alone were enough to make her heart pound, but he seemed intent on testing the extent of just how much that heart could take. "Thank—thank you..." tried Spinel again, praying that would be the end of it before her heart burst. His kisses were so tender and the warmth of his breath left a gentle burn along her cheek.

Steven had honestly expected Spinel to push him away at this point, when she didn't, he just couldn't bring himself to pull away. He couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened if Elaine had gotten her family to believe her. How many more times was he going to see Spinel in pain, nearly caught, unconscious for days, or called a monster? She could have been dragged away from him today and what if he couldn't stop it? Surely Spinel would say most of his fear came from the spell that bound him, but Steven knew better. He was simply terrified of losing her.

"St-steven..." whispered Spinel in an attempt to get his attention when she noticed his shoulders begin to tremble.

"Sorry," Steven began, his voice cracking slightly as he wrapped his arms around Spinel, pulling her gently against his chest.

Spinel didn't say anything right away. Instead, she closed her eyes and returned his embrace, letting her hands rest at his back. "I'm safe, Steven..." said Spinel finally.

"What about next time," asked Steven suddenly, tightening his hold on her. "I knew that at the end of this I was going to have to say goodbye to you, but how can I accept it if it happens so soon? I haven't said everything I want to say and I wanted to show you a lot more of this world."

Spinel began to panic now. The way Steven was talking, she worried that he was going to say something he couldn't take back. "I-I'm right here," she began, attempting to cheer him up. Not that she didn't understand his trepidation. Garnets warning of Steven's death had made her fear the exact same thing. Being separated suddenly, it felt too unfair.

Steven loosened his hold on her and pulled back to see her face. What was the point of holding himself back if she could vanish tomorrow? When he thought about never seeing her face again, suddenly that line he was trying to keep between them seemed so stupid. Even if he was scared that Spinel might be troubled by his words, it was nothing compared to the thought of losing her without being honest. "Spinel...I-"

Before he could continue, Spinel had clamped her hands over his mouth, staring up at Steven in a panic. It was like she knew what he was going to say. "D-don't say it," she pleaded.

Steven took a breath and pulled her hands from his mouth gently, "why not?"

"Because you can't take it back! Because...you don't even know if you mean it for real. Because..." trailing off, Spinel realized she could list every logical reason for Steven to keep quiet, but the main reason she didn't want to hear it, was because of the inevitable goodbye. Wouldn't it hurt so much more is she heard him say something like that aloud?

"I don't care if I can't take it back," insisted Steven. "Even if you think it's about the binding, I'll just do what I can to make you believe otherwise."

"You haven't even known me that long," Spinel tried again. This time, stating something that applied to them both. She kept trying to remind herself that she didn't have time to fall for Steven like this. It had happened so fast that it couldn't have been real, right?

"I never said this was logical," he replied, feeling his cheeks begin to burn. "I can't help it."

"You just can't say it. ...please..." pleaded Spinel again.

"Why?" Steven insisted again. Not willing to accept the same answers as before.

Spinel felt as if her heart was in a vice. Why was he doing this to her? Didn't he know just as well as she did that this was going to end badly? "Because no matter what you say, it won't change the fact that we have to say goodbye in the end!" Spinel answered finally, feeling tears begin to burn her eyes.

"Doesn't that make it more important now? I know my time with you is limited...but I can't lie to myself the entire time, not when I could lose you at any given moment," continued Steven as he reached over and cupped her face in his hands, using his thumbs to gently brush away the tears that clung to her eyes. "If you really want me to pretend that I feel nothing...I'll do that for you. I just...I didn't want to regret anything."

As if she could ask him to pretend now. Not after all this. After all, there was a part of her that was really happy to have Steven care so much. He wanted to be honest with her because that’s the type of person he was. She just wasn’t as good as he was. She couldn’t allow herself to admit anything like this. As long as she held it in, perhaps it would keep her from falling apart near the end. "You're so unfair!" Spinel shouted suddenly, alarming Steven a little. "...and you're an idiot..." she continued, jerking her head from his hands and wiping her own eyes before she stared back at him. "...I'm not so cruel...that I'd ask you to lie. I know you can't do that..."

Steven smiled wide. Spinel was awfully stubborn. He hardly expected her to give him permission, but she wasn't asking him to stop anymore. He figured that was the most she could muster right now. He took her hands again, being careful not to grip too hard against her injured one. Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, "I love you, Spinel."

As Steven finally confessed what had been weighing on his heart, just outside the Inn, Garnet was standing out in the rain, tucked away in a small alley between buildings. She pulled a small pink sphere from her cloak pocket; and waited for it to light up, projecting the faint image of a slender woman with a rather triangular nose and a large Gem on her forehead.

"Finally," the woman groaned impatiently. "Why haven't you checked in?"

"I found him," replied Garnet simply.

The slender woman seemed stunned to silence, at least before her eyes began to overflow with tears. "A-are you sure?! Is it really him?"

Garnet nodded her head, "yes. I'm certain."

"W-well when are you two going to arrive?" The projection asked as she wiped her eyes, clearly overjoyed by the news.

"Pearl, he's not alone," started Garnet, "he's traveling with the Mermaid named Spinel. I don't think he'll be willing to leave her behind."

"Wha—?! Garnet, they weren't supposed to meet! I thought we set it up so that—-"

"—his power is growing too fast," interjected Garnet. "Spinel will be able to keep him calm."

Pearl said nothing at first, taking in the news. "Can we trust that she won't set him off?"

"I think you're aware that trying to separate them would set him off more."

"...So it's already too late," sighed Pearl. "...Then I suppose there is no point dwelling on it. All we can do now is make sure they both get here safely. Even with the girl, the plan won't change. We don't have a lot of time left."

Garnet nodded her head and closed her fist around the pink sphere, ending the projection and their conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for the wonderful comments you've left for this story! It really motivates me to write more and more! Thank you so much and I'm so glad that you all enjoy it!


	17. Elaine's Last Try

After Steven had gotten that off his chest, Spinel's heart wouldn’t calm down. She knew what he was going to say, but apparently she just didn't prepare herself enough for it. After all, she'd hoped he wouldn't say it, but now that he did, there was no turning back. What was she going to do now? She was embarrassed, her face flushed, and a goofy smile laced her lips. She shouldn't be happy about this. Steven loving her would only end badly. Taking her hands from his, Spinel grabbed her pigtails and hid her face with her hair. "Th-thank you..." she replied, unsure what else she could possibly say in return.

Steven stifled a laugh and cleared his throat quietly. She was far more adorable than she realized. "Spinel, you don't have to be so nervous. I don't expect you to-"

Spinel placed her finger over his lips to keep Steven from continuing. She knew what he was going to say. She knew because of how kind he was he didn't expect anything in return for his affection. He never asked her for anything in return no matter what he did. However, just as she thanked him before, she would offer what little she could. "J-just wait," she insisted, pulling her hand back and forcing herself to look up at him even if her cheeks still burned.

Steven nodded his head, waiting in silence as she watched Spinel struggle with what to do next. He was confused, but it was cute to watch, so he didn't mind. At first, he tried to guess what she was trying to say, but as it turned out, she wasn't planning on saying anything. Spinel quickly got on her tiptoes, placing her hands on Steven's chest for balance, and leaned up to kiss his lips.

Steven was so shocked that he barely had time to react properly when their lips met before Spinel pulled back. "Wh—-wait!" Steven exclaimed once he realized what had just happened. "Did you just—wait!"

"W-was that...was that not right?" Spinel asked, quickly glancing down at her hands as she tugged anxiously at her dress. "I've never...I...just wanted to show you that—-I mean—-I don't know!" Spinel stumbled over her words, unable to think properly anymore. It seemed like such a good idea at the time, but now she just felt like a fool.

Steven panicked and grabbed her shoulders to get her attention. "N-no, that was right, that was great!" He insisted with a blush. Knowing he had to reassure Spinel before she spiraled and became too embarrassed to ever attempt it again. "It's...it's just..." he trailed off, his cheeks burning red as he worked up some courage, "...can we do it again?"

Spinel froze and she quickly placed her hand over her heart to make sure it hadn't actually jumped from her chest. "A-again? You…really want to?"

Before Steven could answer her, there was a knock at the door and Steven hung his head in bitter disappointment. "Whhhhhy?" He groaned miserably, internally cursing the terrible timing of whoever was at the door.

"S-Steven? Spinel? It's Elaine. I...I came to apologize..." announced the timid girl on the other side of the door.

Spinel immediately frowned. This girl had been more trouble than she was worth, but Steven reacted before she did and turned for the door. He didn't plan on ignoring Elaine, but he also wasn't too keen on allowing her anywhere near Spinel. He opened the door, a little relieved to see that Allen was standing with his sister.

"Sorry to disturb you again," Allen began, "but Elaine insisted on apologizing and I figured it was best to clear the air."

"I-I really do feel awful," Elaine insisted desperately. "I said such awful things to Spinel...but I only did that because I truly believed that I saw a Mermaid. I was scared...and worried about you. I'm so ashamed of my actions..."

Steven was a little taken aback by her apology, but Spinel peeked out from behind Steven with a leer towards Elaine. "That doesn't excuse the lying and accusations."

"I just didn't know what I was saying, but my head feels clear now. I mean, we all know how dangerous Mermaids are; I just panicked when I thought I saw one. I was worried someone’s soul might be taken...or that Steven was being bewitched...or-"

"—-her point is," interrupted her brother as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "my sister just got a little confused from the fall, but she's sorry for all the trouble she caused. My father is getting your accounts together to refund the room, so I hope you won't hold my sisters mishap against us."

Though Steven was usually a trusting person, he was having a hard time accepting this. Something felt off about it. "Thank you for the apology, but—-"

"—-a-actually, I did come up here for something else as well," Elaine continued, "I think when I fell...I lost something important. My grandmothers ring..."

"I haven't seen any ring," Spinel replied quickly.

"Would it be okay if I came in and looked for it? Please, it's the only thing I have left of her. It's very precious to me..." Elaine pleaded with tears in her eyes.

As Elaine made her case to retrieve her grandmother’s ring, their Mother was calling for Allen to help with some new patrons at the front. He excused himself and promised his sister he would be back right away, leaving her alone at the door.

"I don't think Spinel would be comfortable with you coming inside," answered Steven finally. "But we could look for the ring and let you know."

Tears began to trickle down Elaine’s cheeks and the young woman used the apron over her dress to cover her face, "I-I don't blame you both for hating me. I'm so sorry!"

"Just get your stupid ring and leave," Spinel relented. She just wanted this girl to go away. Once she got her ring, she'd have no reason to bother them again.

"Are you sure?" Asked Steven, still uneasy about allowing Elaine inside.

"Thank you, Spinel! You're so kind," exclaimed Elaine as she wiped her eyes.

Steven sighed and stepped back to open the door a bit further so that Elaine could slip by him. Spinel stayed by Steven's side while Elaine searched the washroom for her ring. Not that she had much choice since Steven was holding her waist to keep her close. After what happened before, he wasn't taking any chances.

With no luck in the bathroom, Elaine thought it must have fallen off when she was carried to the bed. After further scanning around the floor, Elaine finally seemed to have found the ring. Unfortunately, it had rolled beneath the wardrobe and her arms weren't long enough to reach it. "Steven...would you be able to move the wardrobe a bit? ...I can't seem to reach..."

Steven was apprehensive about letting go of Spinel, but the former Mermaid sighed and walked over to the bed, sitting at the side, "well good, you've found it, now you can leave."

Steven did as he was asked and pushed the wardrobe aside quite easily, giving Elaine enough space to reach her ring. Once she had the ring in hand, she got to her feet and smiled up at Steven. "Thank you Steven, and...I'm really sorry about all this, but once you're free from your spell, I'm sure you'll thank me."

At first he thought Elaine was apologizing for her accusations again, but the way she worded it was rather strange. "Wait, what—-"

Elaine had taken out a tiny blue marble from her apron pocket and slapped it against Steven's chest, releasing a small, fast burst of smoke that seemed to knock him out at once. Luckily, he leaned back and slid against the wall, sleeping soundly as he slumped to the floor. Elaine didn't want to hurt Steven, but she was sure while he was enchanted, he'd just help the Mermaid. While at first she was quite proud of how she'd managed that so smoothly, she wasn't prepared for how quickly Spinel responded.

Elaine had barely turned around to confront the Mermaid when she felt Spinel's hand around her throat, pushing her back hard against the wardrobe with a loud bang.

"What did you do?" Hissed Spinel.

The look in Spinel's eyes shook Elaine to her core. The Mermaid wasn't panicked or concerned, she was focused and cold. Looking at Elaine as if she were a cornered animal. Even if Elaine wanted to explain, Spinel's grip was getting tighter and the girl gasped for breath. "H—-st—-" she sputtered through choked attempts at speech.

With a glare, Spinel released the girl’s throat, letting Elaine cough and catch her breath before she spoke again. "If you scream, I will make sure you never speak again," stated Spinel simply. With Steven passed out, she wasn't so worried about upsetting him. He was kind, but Spinel had no problem killing humans if she had to. "What did you do to Steven?"

Elaine rubbed her throat, glaring back at Spinel. "I...didn't want him getting hurt because of you, you monster," she answered with a strain in her voice. "He'll wake up if I—"

Before she could finish, Spinel slammed Elaine’s back against the wardrobe by her shoulders. "Wake him up," demanded Spinel in a quiet snarl. "Now."

"N-not until you release him! If you release him from your spell and leave town, I won't call the law." Truthfully, Elaine had been confident in her plan, but she was rapidly realizing that she had no idea what she was doing. The small magical trinkets she'd brought with her may not have been enough to handle this. She certainly didn't think Spinel would be so fast. Why did she think she could handle a Mermaid alone when it usually took several soldiers or Hunters?

"You really don't have the upper hand here." Fix him. NOW." Spinel demanded once again.

Elaine panicked. She thought the bargain would work, but since it fell through, she'd have to try something else. "F-fine. ...there's a yellow marble in my apron pocket. ...it's the one to wake him up..."

Spinel reached down into one of Elaine’s apron pockets and pulled out the yellow marble she'd described. However, Spinel wasn't holding it long before the marble reacted, sending a terrible shock or electricity throughout Spinel's body, earning a painful scream from the Mermaid before she fell to her knees, crippled by the painful jolts that continued to travel along her body.

"W-it worked!" Elaine exclaimed in triumphant surprise. "I thought that customer was full of it at first. Now, all I have to do is get Steven out of—"

As Elaine was thinking aloud over her plan to get Steven from the room, she turned to where he was sleeping and found that he wasn't sleeping anymore. However, though he was standing, his eyes wide open; it didn't seem like Steven at all. His eyes had changed color and his pupils were now in the shape of diamonds.

"St-Steven?!" Spinel exclaimed through gritted teeth. This was too similar to what happened at camp. Even if Elaine was terrible trouble, she didn't want Steven to stain his hands with another death.

"What did you do to him?!" Elaine shouted, standing on her tiptoes to try and examine his face. His eyes were beginning to shine a bright white light and Elaine was pushed back from him by what seemed to be a strong gust of wind, knocking her away and onto the bed, breaking the electric hold on Spinel as well.

"Steven!" Shouted Spinel as she scrambled to her feet, her skin aching from the burns the electrocution left on her body, singing the edges of her dress. "Are you okay?! Say something!"

Steven stood still, his eyes remained bright. It was disconcerting, though Spinel was relieved to see that nothing else was happening. She even glanced back at the bed to see that Elaine had been knocked out once again. She was actually quite surprised that no one else had come running with all the noise they'd been making. She wasn't sure how to fix this, but getting Steven's attention came first. Standing in front of him, Spinel cupped his face in her hands. "Steven! Steven! It's me! I—"

As Spinel tried her best to shake Steven from his trance, the light from his eyes faded and he looked down at Spinel. The pink hue hadn't gone away and he still wasn't speaking as his diamond eyes roamed over the small burns among Spinel's body. Without answering her, Steven's body moved rather robotically, placing his hands on Spinel's shoulders and leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Confused at first, Spinel wasn't sure what was happening. That is, until she felt the pain from the burns vanish. She glanced down at her arms to see the resulting scars disappearing as well. Was Steven healing her? Once the burns were gone, Steven pulled back to look over Spinel again. Though his expression was stoic, Spinel was sure that he had been worried about her. Whatever this was, it seemed to take over Steven when he was in danger. This time, it came around after Spinel had screamed. "I'm okay," she announced, reaching up to stroke his cheek tenderly against her palm. "I'm all better."

Without a word, Steven closed his eyes and his body went limp, alarming Spinel as she was forced to catch him in her arms with a gasp. "Whoa," she exclaimed, trying to keep him on his feet, but finding it terribly difficult since her new legs weren't that strong just yet.

"Now what do I do?" Asked Spinel aloud as she draped one of his arms around her shoulders, looking back at the unconscious Elaine. How were they going to explain this one? Not only that, why hadn't anyone heard what was going on?

As Spinel was concentrating on finding an escape, there began a pounding against the door. It didn't sound like a knock. More like someone was using a battering ram to try and get through. It must have been Elaine’s brother or Father. Actually, it might have been anyone that heard the commotion. "Okay...okay..." breathed Spinel as she slowly helped Steven to the ground. She wasn't going to leave him behind, but she couldn't fight while holding him. So the Mermaid prepared herself for whoever was going to bust through that door.

However, to Spinel’s surprise, when the door finally broke down and fell forward into the room, what stood in the doorway was not human at all. Standing atop the fallen door was a large, pink lion, his eyes shining a bright light just as Steven's had earlier.

"Are you—what is this?" Spinel asked without thinking. She'd seen pictures of Lions, but was quite sure there weren't any pink colored ones running about. Also, why was there one roaming a village Inn? Did the humans summon it? Could they even do that?

The Lions eyes dimmed, staring silently at Spinel before it turned its attention to the unconscious Steven beside her. The beast stepped forward to approach the young man, but Spinel quickly kneeled down to cover Steven's body. The Lion stopped, but didn't seem put off by Spinel. Instead, he lowered his body, glancing at Spinel as if waiting for her.

The disguised Mermaid stared in disbelief at the creature for a moment, but as she looked from Steven and back to the beast, she didn't feel as though they were in danger from it. "...can you...get us out of here?" She asked quietly, reaching over and placing her hand on the Lions large pink nose.

The beast seemed to nod, even if it was just a little. This was enough for Spinel. He wasn't attacking them anyway, so at least that was something. Anyhow, they couldn't very well stay here after this. First, she rushed to get the large bag that Steven had been carrying with them and stuffed his maps and Elaine’s book inside. Steven only intended to borrow it, but Spinel figured she owed them now. In fact, she'd take more of their stuff if she wasn't in a hurry. The last thing she stuffed in the duffel was the blanket from the bed, trying hard to force it inside. She wanted to make sure the bag was filled to the brim so that she wasn't forgetting anything. She hung the bags strap over her shoulder, losing her balance at first, but rallying quickly as she made her way to Steven. It was harder with the bag weighing her down, but eventually Spinel was able to lift Steven up enough for the Lion to help nudge him onto his back. Taking a deep breath, Spinel made sure that Steven was steady on the Lion before she cautiously settled herself on the pink beast as well, scooting forward to hold onto her unconscious friend.

The Lion seemed fine with all this and straightened up once everyone was safely on his back. Spinel still wasn't sure where this Lion came from, but since he was friendly and seemingly offering them a ride, she didn't want to waste an opportunity to escape. She looked back at Elaine one more time and stuck out her tongue in disdain before the Lion took off through the open doorway.


	18. The Forgotten Garden

As Lion dashed off with Spinel and Steven on his back, Garnet watched them leave from the first floor tavern window. She waited until the pink color of the Lion could no longer be seen before turning back to the humans that were unconscious on the floor. Stepping over a couple of them, she made her way up the stairs to the room where Spinel and Steven had been staying. Elaine was still unconscious after being hit with Steven's energy, which worked out well for Garnet as she loomed over the girl to search her pocket and take the remaining colored marbles from her.

Someone had supplied this human with magic trinkets. Specifically, trinkets to harm mermaids. Garnet dropped the marbles into a small bag strapped to her side and pulled out the pink sphere she had used to communicate with Pearl once before. The sphere projected a small screen with Pearl looking out at Garnet anxiously once she answered the call.

"I'm sending a human your way," informed Garnet before Pearl could say anything.

"A human? Right now? We're preparing things for Steven. We don't have time to deal with another-"

"-she was touched by his energy and she's still alive. We may need her." Interrupted Garnet.

Pearl seemed surprised by this, but she nodded her head in reply. "I understand. We'll be ready to receive her."

With nothing else to say, Garnet cut the feed and sighed as she looked around the room. She'd chosen not to mention Lion to Pearl, nor would she mention that Steven and Spinel were out of sight. "...everything we've been working for...is riding on you two..." whispered Garnet

While Garnet took care of things at the Inn, Spinel was holding onto Steven as best she could as the Lion rushed off through the valley behind the village. Though he was draped over the Lions back, Spinel was still worried that he might slip off somehow. She had no idea where the beast was planning to take them, but at least they were safe. Elaine had really caused no end of trouble and if they didn't have to run away like this, Spinel would have preferred to make sure Elaine couldn't tell her lies once they were gone. Still, she had to get Steven somewhere he could rest. That is, if it was in her control.

"Where are you taking us?!" shouted Spinel over the cold wind that stung her skin. "Steven needs to—"

Before she could finish, the Lion roared and a pink light flashed out like a visible echo, leaving behind a similar looking circle of energy that Lars had produced back at the campsite to help them all escape. Spinel could only watch in mild shock while the Lion took them all through the portal. The former mermaid was temporarily blinded by a bright flash once inside the circle, but when her eyesight returned, Spinel was once again stunned to silence. The Lion had transported them all to some strange abandoned garden. All the flowers had withered away from neglect. The large stone fountain in the middle seemed to have completely run dry and was slowly crumbling away along with the carved stone columns that surrounded it.

"Well...this is creepy..." muttered Spinel, hoping this wasn't where the Lion really intended to take them. Though that hope was squashed rather quickly once the Lion lowered himself, waiting for them to slip from his back.

Though Spinel was reluctant to stop and rest in such an eerie place, she wasn't about to argue with the magical pink lion that saved them from trouble. Stepping down from the Lion, she dropped the duffel bag and went to work getting Steven down as well. He was still out cold from his earlier burst of energy. Though this would have been the second time Spinel saw him do this, she was still no closer to finding out why it happened and it seemed that Steven didn't remember his first outburst.

Hooking her arms beneath his, she pulled Steven off the Lion and quickly lowered him to the ground, resting his head on their luggage. Once everyone had departed his back, the Lion began walking away, alarming Spinel at once. "Hey-hey, Wait," she started to shout as she sprang to her feet. "Where are you going?! I don't know where you brought us! You can't just-"

As Spinel followed after the Lion and pleaded with a beast who most likely couldn't understand her, she was unknowingly led to the bottom of a flight of stairs. Distracted from her pleas once her foot knocked against the first step. Spinel glanced up to see where the stairs would lead and saw nothing of importance. Just a small platform bordered with four large pillars, a large stone Diamond in the middle. She didn't plan on exploring it, but the Lion had gotten behind her and began to nudge at her back with his forehead to push her along.

"Ah! O-okay, okay!" She exclaimed in annoyance. With a sigh, Spinel turned to make sure Steven was still sleeping before she started to climb the stairs. When she reached the top, she could see that the stone Diamond was decaying slowly and had been overcome by some overgrown vines. "...it's really a shame. I'm sure this place was beautiful once..." mumbled Spinel while plucking at some of the withered plants to clean them from the Diamond.

It wasn't long after she'd removed a couple of vines, that a light began to shine from the Diamond and projected a dim pink screen. Spinel gasped lightly and took a step back on instinct, but it was soon apparent that this was nothing to fear. Just a projection. The image that appeared on the screen was in the shape of a woman, but the recording was apparently too old to maintain its quality. With all the static and glitches, Spinel could barely make out the voice, let alone get a proper look at the woman's face.

"I-so sorry—" the woman's voice echoed through the static, her words skipping out due to the deteriorating footage. "—Mistake. You are my—-please remember. It is your fate. Had I known, I never would have—-one—-thi—-"

Spinel listened patiently as the woman seemed to pause, sobbing softly through the static. She couldn't make out everything the woman said, but this was clearly left as a message for someone. It made Spinel a little sad to think that perhaps this message was waiting here all this time. Did it ever reach the one it was intended for? Or was Spinel the first to hear it?

Finally, the sobs quieted down and the woman began again, "forgive me. This isn't what I—-anted—-. The others wa—-our—they'll use you. I did all—protect you. —-power you have is dangerous. Don't let them—-it could kill you. Please, remember who you are. You are—-nd—-ove—-ou. Remember that—. —-care of yourself, Steven."

Once the woman said Stevens name, the message ended and the image was immediately cut off. Spinel kept her gaze fixed on where the projection had been, stunned to silence when she heard the end. Steven? It couldn't possibly be a message for **her** Steven. Everything here appeared to have been abandoned long ago. At least long enough for the stone carvings to have practically rotted away and lose their shape. It wasn't possible for all this to have been neglected just in her Stevens lifetime. Still, Spinel was trying to recall the message in its entirety, worried there was something important she didn't pay enough attention to now.

"S-something about fate and a mistake? Remembering who you are...and a dangerous power that could hurt him..." repeated Spinel under her breath. There was no way this was meant for the man sleeping just down those stairs, but a part of Spinel was terrified now. Steven clearly had a power that couldn't belong to any human, but he wasn't a mermaid either. What was he? Twice he had saved their lives with this power. A pink Lion with the ability to transport them had come to the rescue, and now a strange message had been left in a long forgotten garden, seemingly for him? What could it all mean?

The Lion began to descend the stairs now, not bothering to wait for Spinel as she tried to organize her jumbled thoughts. It wasn't until he edged closer to Steven's sleeping face that Spinel took notice.

"H-hey! Don't disturb him," shouted Spinel as she dashed down the stairs, nearly tripping over her own feet as she did so.

"...Spinel?" Mumbled Steven, his eyes fluttering open slowly, sure that he had heard Spinel shouting. His vision hadn't even fully become clear when he suddenly remembered what happened before he passed out. "ELAINE," he shouted as he sprang up with a start, feeling light headed the moment he was on his feet. Swaying back a bit, he was steadied by something soft and sturdy. It allowed Steven to see Spinel running towards him in what looked like an abandoned Garden. Though he was relieved to see that Spinel was okay, he was completely lost on what was going on. They were someplace new and when he glanced over his shoulder to see who had helped steady him, his heart jumped out of his chest at the sight of the large pink lion staring back at up at him. "WHAT THE—-?!" Steven exclaimed in a panic, scrambling away from the beast until he reached the old fountain.

"St-Steven...!" panted Spinel when she finally reached him, leaning on her knees to catch her breath for a moment. Walking was hard enough. Running was ridiculous. "Don't panic..."

"What is going on?!" he demanded while placing his hands at Spinels arms, helping to straighten her so their eyes met.

"W-well...it's not a long story, but it is a confusing one. I'm still not sure I've really caught up myself..." began Spinel, averting her eyes from his own.

Steven listened quietly as Spinel explained the events that had passed him by. Though she omitted his involvement in it all and instead said it was the Lion that had saved them both from Elaines traps. Spinel was also reluctant to mention the message she had heard just a few moments ago. She still wasn't even sure it was meant for her Steven anyhow.

"And so...where are we now then?" asked Steven, finally taking his hands from Spinel and looking around.

"I don't know. He brought us here...and it doesn't seem like he's in a hurry to leave."

"...well I guess...we should just make camp here for the night. It will be easier to find our way in the morning. ...but from the looks of this place, no one has been around for a long time." Steven sighed at last. "Did you find anything helpful?"

Spinel flinched lightly and abruptly shook her head frantically. "NOPE! Just dead flowers and broken statues! I don't think—"

As Spinel nervously answered Steven, the two heard a notable rustling in the overgrown grass just a few feet away. It silenced them both, wondering if someone had followed them somehow, or if the Lion had brought them into a trap.

"Lion? Have you come back?" Came a soft and almost lyrical voice from the weeds, accompanied by a pale young woman when she pushed herself through the brush. The girl had pink hair that was tied up in buns at both sides of her head. She wore a sleeveless, tattered pink dress that reached just above her knees, and no shoes. Though her dress was rather disheveled, the girl appeared rather neat and clean otherwise. However, her left eye was covered by a torn white cloth, surrounded by scars that seemed to take up most of the left side of her face. Though the scars were thin, against her pale skin, they were hard to miss. Once out, the girl seemed shocked to see anyone here, but instead of panicking, her one good eye flooded with tears. Falling to her knees, the girl covered her mouth with both hands and openly wept.

"H-whoa! Are you hurt?!" Asked Steven in alarm while Spinel watched cautiously.

"F-forgive me," the girl replied while shaking her head. "I've just...been waiting here for so long. I just became...a little overwhelmed."

"Waiting for what?" Spinel asked now.

Glancing at Spinel, the girl not only appeared confused, but also rather surprised. "What is your name?"

The former mermaid was already getting a bad feeling about this. "Spinel," she answered finally.

The girl appeared troubled now, shaking her head and searching her brain for an answer to which neither Spinel or Steven knew the question. "No. That's...you're not supposed to be here."

"What is going on here?" Steven demanded now. "Are you the one that sent the Lion to help us? Is this your home?"

"...I...I was waiting here. I was told to wait. She told me to stay here. ...but...Spinel was not supposed to come back here..." the girl muttered anxiously.

"Back?" repeated Spinel. "I've never been here before. Look, you'd better start answering some questions. That Lion of yours brought us here and I want to know why."

Steven watched the pink haired girl as she looked back up at them. Finally regaining a bit of composure, she took a deep breath and bowed her head. "My name is Volley...and I've been waiting a long time to see you again, Steven."


	19. Our Garden Memories?

Staring at Volley as she bowed her head in front of Steven, the travel companions were at a loss. Still, this girl had provided no answers so far and Steven was becoming impatient now.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand what’s happening here. You’ve been waiting here...for me?” asked Steven, hoping to confirm a few things and perhaps get a clear answer for once.

Straightening back up, Volley nodded her head with a pleasant smile. “That’s correct. It’s been a long time, but I knew you would return when you were ready.”

“Ready for what?” asked Steven, becoming a little wary of this girl now. She seemed so excited to see him, but he was sure that she’d mistaken him for someone else.

“...I would like to explain, but first, perhaps we should speak privately.” Volley added with a glance towards Spinel. “This one is no longer welcome here.”

Spinel bristled at her remark, but before she could bark at the girl, Steven took her hand. “She’s my friend. If she’s not welcome, then neither am I.”

A gentle burn laced Spinels cheeks and she gently squeezed his hand as a reply, staring down at her feet to keep him from seeing her bashful face.

“...” Volley was notably displeased by this display. “...they told me that things would be different this time...” she muttered bitterly, “...but it’s just like before.”

“Please, we’re just confused. Could you tell us why we were brought here? Your Lion saved us and we’re grateful, but we were on our way to the Capital. It’s important that we get there quickly.” Steven explained, hoping this girl wasn’t someone they had to worry about.

Volley’s smile returned to her, “oh! So you’re already on your way. I was worried that this girl had corrupted you again.”

“Corrupted?!” Spinel repeated, clearly offended by the remark. “Listen you—“

“—-but I’m glad that despite her efforts to derail your destiny, you’ve made your way back here. You were always such a good boy. Now, if you’ll just follow me, I’ll explain everything.”

Without waiting for a reply, Volley began walking towards the flight of stairs, stopping at the bottom to wait for Steven with a pleasant smile.

Though Steven wasn’t sure what to do, Spinel knew what was waiting for him on that platform. “Steven, I...I think we should leave,” she whispered cautiously. “I don’t like this place...”

“I don’t like it either,” he agreed, “but we could be in the middle of nowhere. We can’t just run off without knowing where to go. ...and I don’t think she’s dangerous. Let’s just see what she has to show us.”

Spinel tried to think of another reason why they shouldn’t follow Volley, but she couldn’t come up with anything that sounded reasonable. She couldn’t explain it, but there was this terrible pit in her stomach. She didn’t want to stay here any longer than they had to.

Still holding onto her hand, Steven made his way to the stairs with Spinel and followed after Volley as she led them up to the platform. They watched as she cheerfully placed both hands upon the stone Diamond. Steven flinched a bit once the pink light flashed and projected a screen, but Spinel simply gripped his hand, worried how he would respond to this.

Once again, the projection was scrambled, but to Spinels surprise, the outline of the woman had changed. She didn’t look at all like the woman that had spoken before. The fuzzy frame of the woman Spinel saw earlier was larger and her hair was long and flowing. This time, the woman seemed taller and had a thinner frame.

“Welcome Home, St—-“ the woman began happily, her voice once again cut off by the poor quality of the aged message. However, this voice was also quite different from what Spinel first heard. The woman in the first message sounded soft and remorseful, while this one didn’t sound emotional at all. Rather, she was cold.

Volley became concerned when the message began to glitch out. She shook the Diamond a bit, but it didn’t seem to help. “Oh dear...” she sighed, taking her hands away and cutting off the image. “I’m so sorry, it seems the message has been damaged. ...I suppose it’s been too long...”

Spinel was actually a bit relieved, but Steven couldn’t help being curious. “Volley...what is this place?”

“This was your garden,” answered Volley. “A special world...where you were meant to stay until it was time for you to fulfill your purpose.”

“Y-you’re confused,” Spinel insisted, “Steven is a human from a small village. This place looks like it’s been abandoned for more than a millennia.”

Honestly, Steven was starting to feel a little sick. Something about this place and what Volley said, it turned his stomach. His head started to ache lightly and he staggered on his feet, only steadied by Spinel when she gasped and hugged his arm.

“Steven?! What’s wrong?!” Spinel asked in a panic.

“Just relax, Steven. Soon, everything will become clear.” Volley added happily.

To Steven, their voices were becoming like an echo in his head. He was trying to focus, but two images seemed to be overlapping. All of a sudden, Spinel and Volley vanished and Steven was standing on the platform alone. The Garden looked brand new. The flowers flourished and clear, sparkling water flowed through the fountain. His heart was pounding in his chest as he looked out over the beautiful scenery, but no matter how lovely it was, he couldn’t help but panic when he noticed Spinel was gone.

“Sp-Spinel?!” He called out, searching the platform before he ran down the stairs to search for her. However, it seemed he didn’t have to look far. Sitting at the edge of the fountain, was Spinel in mermaid form with her tail dipped in the water.

Steven was awestruck once again by how lovely Spinel looked, but she was a little different than he remembered. She had her hair tied up in buns that nearly resembled hearts and the black streaks that lined her cheeks had gone. He ran to the fountain, catching the mermaids eye.

“Ah, did you finish your conversation?” Spinel asked cheerfully, nearly forcing Steven to stop cold at the sight of her beautiful smile.

“...Spinel? ...what’s going on?” asked Steven once he reached the fountain and stood beside her. Though she was in mermaid form, Spinel wore a white sundress, which only made sense to Steven when she swung her tail out of the water and reformed her legs. Her scales vanished quickly as she hopped down from the fountains edge to place her bare feet on the grass.

“Did the talk end badly? You look...upset.” Spinel observed, reaching up and placing her palm against his cheek.

He wasn’t sure what to say. This had to have been a dream. Had he fallen down those stairs and hit his head? “Um...n-no. I was just talking with Volley when...everything...seemed to change. I think I’m having a weird dream...” admitted Steven with a smile.

Spinel sighed, “...if only,” she began. “Steven...I’m beginning to worry. ...I keep hearing rumors...and they keep reducing the time we spend together. I think...something bad is about to happen.”

Though he wasn’t sure what was going on, Steven didn’t want to see Spinel upset. “I’m sure everything will be okay. I’ll keep you safe, just like I promised.”

Pulling her hand back, Spinel blushed before she wrapped her arms around his chest, pressing her ear just over his heart to hear it beat. “I’ll protect you too. I don’t know what the others are planning for sure, but I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Steven barely had a moment to enjoy the tender embrace before the scenery changed again. Spinel was no longer in his arms, but instead, she was standing with her back to him, her arms spread out as if blocking him from something.

“Spi-“

“I won’t let you take him!” shouted Spinel.

Only now did Steven a small group of people creeping closer to them, though he couldn’t seem to make out their faces. It was as if someone had scribbled over their features.

“I knew this would happen,” said a woman that stood in front of the crowd. “Step aside, Spinel. Steven has a destiny to fulfill. You can’t possibly stop us all.”

Spinel looked back at Steven over her shoulder, tears trickling from her eyes. “You have to go, you can’t let them catch you!”

“Wh-Spinel, what’s going on?!”

Turning around to face him, Spinel cupped his face in her hands and stood on her tip toes to press her lips against his own. “Please Steven...” she whispered against his lips, “...even if we get separated now, I’ll find you. I promise.”

This was a dream. It had to be. He should have been happy when she kissed him, but all he felt was this terrible pain in his chest. Tears flooded his eyes as he pulled back from her and shook his head. “Spinel...please just-tell me what’s happening,” pleaded Steven through his tears.

Spinel didn’t have a chance to answer before a black whip wrapped around her neck, yanking her away. Even when he made to reach for her, two faceless figures restrained him, holding him back as Spinel was dragged away.

“SPINEL!! SPINEL!!!” LET HER GO!!” Steven screamed. His voice echoing through the garden and soon accompanied by a bright pink flash of light. The flash blinded him for a moment, but when he opened his eyes again everyone was gone and he was kneeling on the ground with Spinel in his arms. He gasped, feeling as if someone had snatched the air from his lungs when he saw that the girl in his arms was bleeding out. “N...NO! Spinel! What—-HOW DID—-“ Steven stammered in a frenzy, trying to find the source of the blood.

“It’s okay. ...we did it...” breathed Spinel. “...it’s going to start again. ...and this time...you’ll be safe...”

“What about you?! Tell me how I can help you!!”

Spinel shook her head with a weak smile. “Just...don’t forget me, okay? You promised...”

Steven shook his head frantically, tears flooding down his chin. There was no pain worse than this. She was dying. He couldn’t do anything for her. It hurt so much that Steven was sure someone had twisted a knife into his heart. “I’m so sorry!” Steven choked out through his sobs. “I-“

Spinel brought her shaking hand to Steven’s cheek in an attempt to get his attention. Tears brimming against her magenta eyes, she took a deep breath. “Don’t cry so much. ...didn’t you say that everything would turn out fine if...”

As Spinel spoke, a stampede of footsteps could be heard rushing towards them.

“Looks like we’re out of time...” whispered Spinel.

“What?! No-wait! I still don’t know what’s happening,” insisted Steven desperately.

Spinel pointed to Steven’s free hand. He was surprised to find that he had been clutching something tight. Opening his hand, he stared down at a large pink diamond in his palm. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but all at once he figured out how to save Spinel. He couldn’t recall the original plan for it, but he didn’t care. Without another word, he closed his fist around the cold Gem and quickly pulled Spinel into a tight embrace as the diamond burned like fire in his hand. He could still hear people shouting and rushing towards them, but all he could do was pray that when this was all over, Spinel would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness! I want to thank everyone for all the comments and support! You’ve all been so wonderful!


	20. Facing This Together

Though he could tell the light faded some time ago, Steven was reluctant to open his eyes. Spinel's cold body had vanished from his embrace, but the Diamond still burned his palm. Why did he see those things? It all seemed like a terrible dream, but the pain in his chest was so real and somehow, Steven knew he'd felt it before.

As Steven went over the possibilities in his mind, he felt a soft hand cover his eyes, shielding him from anything else he might see. Of course, this startled him a bit, but for some reason, Steven knew he wasn't in any danger.

"When you wake up, you must escape before they come for you."

The voice he heard was soft and gentle, but there was an urgency in her words that he couldn't ignore.

"How?" asked Steven. Though he didn't recognize the woman's voice at all, asking who she was didn't even occur to him.

"Lion will get you out. Call for him." The woman instructed, keeping her hand over Steven's eyes.

"...will Spinel be there when I open my eyes?" Steven asked with a catch in his throat. He could still feel her body growing cold in his arms. If he woke up to find that it wasn't just a dream, he wasn't sure he wanted to go back.

"Don't let history repeat itself, Steven," replied the woman. "You have the power to protect her. More so than you did before."

Power? Did she mean that pink light he kept seeing? Even in these images, it only appeared when he was desperate. "I don't know how to use it. What if I hurt her? What if—"

"—-Steven," the woman interrupted sternly. "This power is yours. Don't let it control you. Protect the one you love...and this time...make it a happy ending. You two already changed this world once, I know you can do it again."

Without giving him a chance to reply, Steven felt the woman press her lips to his forehead briefly. It was then that he began to hear Spinels voice like an echo. She was calling his name as if searching for him in the distance.

"From now on...it will be even harder for you, Steven. ...I'm sorry..." whispered the woman sadly as everything went black.

Back on the platform with Volley, Spinel was kneeling beside Steven. He had been unconscious for a few minutes now and Spinel wasn't sure how to wake him. She'd shook him several times and called his name, but nothing seemed to work.

"It's pointless," began Volley as she watched Spinels futile efforts.

"What did you do to him? Wake him up right now," demanded Spinel.

"I didn't do anything. He's just remembering what he forgot. ...and once he does, it would be best if you weren't around. We can't have you ruining things again." Volley replied with a smile.

Once again, Spinel had no idea what this girl was talking about, but she had no intentions of going anywhere. Not while Steven was like this. "I'm staying right here until he wakes up."

The smile faded from Volleys face, "even without your memory, you're still making the same stupid mistakes. I suppose even with a second chance...you'll just end up like before."

"My memory?" Spinel repeated. "Why do you keep talking like that?!"

"It must be so frustrating for you. I can imagine. After all, you convinced Steven to change everything and yet, here we are. Right back where it started. You thought we would all forget, but you miscalculated and once Steven remembers all the awful things you did, he'll leave you all alone."

It was clear that Spinel wasn't going to understand anything this girl said to her. Actually, she didn't want to understand it. Luckily, she was pulled from the conversation when she heard Steven awake with a short gasp for air. She smiled and quickly leaned over to look down at his face. "Steven! You're okay!"

In silence, Steven took a few even breaths, staring up at Spinels face. He was back, right? Reaching up, he brushed his fingers along her cheek to feel the warmth of her skin. She was alive. Her cheeks flushed as he touched her and Steven could see the confusion in her eyes. She was embarrassed by his actions for sure, but she wasn't pulling away.

"Er...Steven...?" Spinel whispered, her heart skipping a beat as he stared up at her. Perhaps he was still a little out of it.

Steven still wasn't quite sure if what he saw was real, it certainly would explain why he fell for Spinel so hard and so fast. He loved her once before and he'd fallen for her yet again. Breathing a small sigh of relief, Steven smiled up at Spinel. "You're beautiful..."

A bashful squeak escaped Spinels throat and her cheeks flushed a deep red. "Wh-"

Though Steven was happy to see her face, there was one thing that puzzled him. In those forgotten memories, Spinel did look a bit different and when in mermaid form, she didn't have the black streaks under her eyes. They couldn't have been two different people. It just didn't feel that way. So why did she have those now?

"Excuse me," Volley interjected, once again displeased with such a display of affection.

Spinel flinched and quickly pulled back, staring down at her knees as her heart thumped against her chest.

Disappointed that Spinel was no longer close, Steven sighed and got to his feet, offering Spinel his hand to help her up as well.

Volley watched as they stood up, but was growing impatient. More so when she caught Steven's eye. This wasn't right. His eyes were still the same. Volley shook her head, feeling tears burn at her one good eye. "No, no, no, you're not done yet."

Steven didn't feel good about leaving someone alone like this, but the woman told him to escape. Her choice of words not lost on him. "We're leaving. ...you can still come with us," he offered one last time, disregarding Volleys words.

"You don't remember everything yet! You can't leave! You need more time." Volley insisted desperately.

When it was clear that she was intent on him staying, Steven took Spinels hand and turned to head down the stairs, but this only served to upset Volley further.

"This is all her fault again, isn't it?! Why couldn't you have just let her die?!" Volley choked out as she stifled a sob.

Steven stopped his descent down the stairs at once. His eyes changed color in a flash and he released Spinels hand to turn back towards the distraught girl. Stepping back onto the platform, the stone began to crack beneath him. Though it startled the girls, what surprised Spinel most was that it didn't seem to alarm Steven at all.

"Were you the one that hurt her?" Steven asked simply. The fact that Volley mentioned her death at all, meant that she was there didn't it? He still didn't know who was responsible for it. All he knew for sure was that he couldn't forgive them.

Volley stepped back on instinct, "i-it wasn't me," she answered as she cornered herself against a bordering pillar. "I wasn't even there when it happened. I only know what I was told."

"Told by who?!" Steven demanded now, the ground beginning to shake around them.

"Zurine! She was the one that told me, but I don't know who did it, I swear!" answered Volley quickly.

"Steven...we should go," pleaded Spinel as she rushed to his side and took his arm. She may not have understood what they were talking about, but it was clear that it was upsetting him and there was a large part of her that didn't want to hear anymore.

It wasn't until Spinel spoke up that Steven even realized what he was doing. The rage he felt began to slowly fade when he saw Spinels face. He wanted answers, but not at the expense of possibly hurting her. "LION!" Steven shouted, not wishing to linger any longer.

The Beast dashed up the stairs to reach them, carrying the duffel bag in his teeth. Once again, Spinel was a little alarmed that none of this was surprising Steven. He had actually called the animal to him and was now taking the bag from its mouth as if he were accustomed to it. Swinging the bag over his shoulder, Steven mounted the Lions back and held out his hand for Spinel with a smile.

"...you really are a curious human..." muttered Spinel as she took his hand and was assisted onto the Lions back as well.

"We can talk about that later," Steven replied with a small smile.

"W-Wait," shouted Volley in a panic. "Please! You can't go! They already know you've come back! Just wait and they'll be here to bring you home!"

Spinel wanted to ask who Volley meant, but the Lion roared and echoed out a portal before she was able. With a jolt, Lion jumped through the circle of light and carried them away from the Garden while Volley pleas faded out.

Once on the other side of the portal, they were met with a downpour of rain and it appeared to be late into the night.

"Seriously?!" Spinel exclaimed irately, becoming soaked almost at once. Luckily, they didn't seem to be close to a village since she had reverted to her Mermaid form thanks to the water crashing down over them. However, that also meant she could no longer keep her balance on the Lions back. With a gasp, she nearly slipped off before Steven panicked and caught her waist with his arm.

"I'm sorry," Steven quickly shouted over the sound of heavy rain. "I didn't know where he would take us!"

"You have so much explaining to do!" Spinel shouted back, blushing as Steven hopped from the Lions back, carrying her like a princess.

"I know," Steven replied. Of course Spinel would want some answers after all that. He didn't have them all, but he could at least tell her what he saw. With perhaps one exception. However, Spinel couldn't ride on Lion like this. So it was important that they find some shelter first. Looking around, they were mostly surrounded by trees. Though the trees were doing very little in keep the rain from them. Finally, Steven noticed Lion wandering off towards the entrance to a cave. It was dark, but he could clearly see the carved out rock. Following after Lion, Steven carried Spinel into the cave, both of them greeted with more water as Lion shook himself dry.

Setting Spinel down, Steven sat down in front of her and opened up the duffel bag. Luckily, there were small, glowing crystals embedded in the walls of the cave to give him some light and only some of the clothes on top were dampened inside the bag. He pulled out a blanket, but when he looked up to offer it, he saw that Spinel had become human again.

"I guess if the water isn't constant, you don't stay a mermaid," observed Steven. "At least we're know what happens in the rain now."

Spinel hugged her shoulders. As a mermaid, she wasn't cold, but now that she was human again and rather damp, she found herself shivering. "I don't know how you people stand this..."

Steven blushed a bit, quickly looking back down into the bag. He couldn't help noticing how Spinels dress was now clinging to her skin. Thank goodness it was black. Though it did remind him of the last time he had to remove wet clothes from her. "Uh-um, I'll find something dry for you to wear."

"...aren't you going to tell me what happened?" asked Spinel as Steven searched the bag.

"There's...not too much to tell," tried Steven. Unfortunately, the other dress he had bought Spinel was a little damp. Though he was sure one of his shirts would cover her well enough, imagining her in it only served to make him more flustered. "Before we talk...y-you should get out of those wet clothes and change into something...dry."

Was he avoiding the subject? Spinel huffed a bit, but she certainly wasn't keen on staying in this cold dress. "Fine...but you have to turn around," she insisted as her cheeks flushed.

"O-of course! I was going to," stammered Steven as he quickly spun around and closed his eyes for good measure. Mostly to keep himself from peeking.

Spinel waited a moment or two before she began to undress. Even though he had his back to her, he was still in the room. For some reason, just the fact that he could hear her undressing was nerve wracking enough. Her dress dropped around her ankles and Spinel realized that she forgot to ask about the dry clothes before she undressed. "Um...I need-"

Before Spinel finished asking, Steven held out one his shirts, making sure not to turn around. This was truly a test of will power for the young man.

"Oh, thanks..." mumbled Spinel as she snatched the shirt up quickly, noting to herself how the back of Stevens ears had flushed red. Taking just a moment to look down at the gem over her chest, Spinel slipped on the shirt. Luckily, Steven was taller than she was by enough that the shirt covered what it had to and a bit more. However, since Steven had a broader frame, the shirt was rather baggy and slipped off her shoulder a bit. If only she still had her scales and tail. This human body sure made Spinel feel awfully exposed. "You aren't going to change?" Spinel asked when she realized Steven was still in his wet clothes.

"Huh?! Oh-oh right! I almost forgot about that..." he chuckled nervously, searching through the bag and pulling out a change of clothes for himself.

"Don't worry, I'll turn around too," exclaimed Spinel, spinning around to face the cave wall.

Steven chuckled once more and began to remove his wet clothes. He still had his back to Spinel. Even though she was dressed, he didn't want to stare at her with her back turned. Dressing as quickly as possible, Steven finally turned around to face Spinel properly. "You don't have to face the wall," he announced, already having trouble looking at her.

Spinel turned around slowly, feeling far more awkward than she ever had before. She knew he didn't watch her undress, so why was her heart beating so fast? It only made things worse when she glanced up and saw Steven's face.

After getting a good look at Spinel, Steven was speechless. The baggy shirt only made her seem more petite and her bashful expression was simply stunning. Steven nearly had to remind himself to breath after a moment of stunned silence. His ears burned once his blush reached them and he had to force himself to look away, covering his mouth with his hand to hide his expression as best he could. "A-are you—-I mean...are you still—you should use the blanket to warm up..." Stumbling on his words, Steven could barely keep his thoughts straight.

Spinel couldn't help but smile. It was rather endearing to see Steven behave like this for once. A nice change of pace since she was usually the one panicking. She grabbed the dry blanket, but only found herself blushing once again as she stood there fidgeting with it.

"...Spinel?" Steven began, noticing how hesitant she was to cover up. "Are you-"

"—-we should share!" Spinel insisted quickly, too embarrassed to actually look at him when she said it.

Steven wondered for a moment if she was doing this on purpose. Was she just trying to see how much his heart could take? "N-no. You need to warm up and I-"

"—-so do you," insisted Spinel again. "You're always sacrificing your own comfort for me. I don't like it. You don't have to be so nice about it."

"...it's...not really about being nice," sighed Steven, unsure how best to explain it without sounding like a creep.

"This is the only blanket and we can't make a fire because of the rain. ...so...j-just stop being so nice and come share the stupid blanket." It was humiliating to be so persistent about this, but she simply refused to let Steven sit in the cold while she warmed up alone. It would only make her feel bad. Spinel took the blanket and sat herself down against the cave wall, staring up at Steven as she stubbornly held the blanket open for him.

"You know, you're being really unfair," Steven sighed again, finally relenting and sitting himself down beside Spinel to drape his half of the blanket over his shoulder.

Her perseverance had paid off, but of course with Steven so close, her heart tightened in her chest. It's not like this was the first time they had been close. Steven carried her all the time and often embraced her, so why did this feel more intimate somehow? "So...should we discuss what happened in that Garden?"

With their shoulders pressed together, Spinel could feel Steven flinch lightly. He was clearly troubled over what he'd learned. Why? Was it so terrible that he couldn't tell her?

"I...don't really know how to explain it..." began Steven, turning his head to keep Spinel from seeing his face. Honestly, he didn't really want to remember it. The last image in particular was not something he was happy to recall. "...do you remember...the way Volley was talking to us? As if she knew who we were, like we'd been there before?"

It worried Spinel that he wouldn't look at her, but she answered all the same. "...yeah."

"When we were in that Garden...you said you didn't like it there. Why?"

"I...it was just creepy," replied Spinel. "It felt...suffocating being there and I...just wanted to leave as soon as possible."

"Do you think there was a reason for that?" asked Steven. "Maybe...you and I really have been there before. Maybe something bad happened there. Maybe we were there before and just...didn't remember."

"What makes you think that? What if Volley was just trying to trick us?" Spinel insisted, getting a bad feeling about this conversation. It was the same foreboding pressure she had felt when Volley was spouting her nonsense. Something inside Spinel just wanted to refuse the notion that she might be forgetting something.

"For what reason," asked Steven in return. "If she or anyone else was after you, they would have tried to keep YOU there, but they wanted me to stay...and said you didn't belong."

A brisk chill ran through Spinel and she began to panic internally. Without knowing exactly why, alarms were going off inside her head. The same way she didn't want to tell him about the message or his power, she didn't think they should dive into this much further. "I-I think we should just forget it," she voiced finally.

"What? You were the one that asked—" Steven began, turning his head to look at her now.

"—-I just don't think it matters. It doesn't change anything. We're still going to the Capital, aren't we?"

"Well, of course, but what if what I saw meant that there is something you and I—"

"—-I haven't forgotten anything. Whatever you think you saw was probably just some magic they pulled on you," maintained Spinel stubbornly.

Now this was getting on Steven's nerves. Spinel was the one that brought it up and now she was refusing to listen? He was used to her avoiding things, but she didn't even really know what she was avoiding. Why was she being so headstrong over this? He turned completely, placing his hands on Spinels shoulders, forcing her to turn his way as well. "Just listen," ordered Steven sternly. "It's not like I enjoyed what I saw. I don't even know if what I saw was a memory or some magic like you've said, but...it felt familiar."

Spinel met Stevens eyes. His honest, determined gaze always forced her to back down. She couldn't stop his confession before and it seemed like she wouldn't be able to stop this either. "...Steven...I'm scared," she admitted quietly. If there was something she'd forgotten, she had a feeling she didn't want to remember. What would that mean for her life now?

That was all it took for Steven to deflate. If what he saw were real memories, he didn't want to be the one that forced Spinel to remember something so awful as her own death. Besides, he still didn't know enough. He'd gotten annoyed since Spinel had brought it up, but the last thing he wanted was for her to be upset because of him. With a defeated sigh, Steven leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. "...me too.." he whispered in a somber breath, "but I think...this is something we have to deal with together. I know this is all getting really complicated and it's...confusing, but..."

As his voice trailed off, Steven wondered how this would all play out. The woman in his vision said he had the power to protect Spinel this time and change the ending to a happier one, but what if getting Spinel involved at all was just going to force her towards the same fate?

As anxious as she was, Spinel could see that this was weighing on Steven as well. He had dealt with so much by starting this journey with her. It would be selfish of her to make him carry this alone. "...it's okay," Spinel finished for him. "You're right. ...I still don't like it...but I'm in this with you. So...let's figure this out together..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so long.   
And also, don't worry, at least SOME questions will be answered in the next chapter.


	21. Burning Affection

A few moments of peaceful silence passed by after Spinel agreed to stand by Steven down this strange new path. It was only when things turned quiet did Spinel realize how close they were.

A single blanket draped over their shoulders, their foreheads gently pressed together, and his hands rested at her shoulders. With barely any distance between them, Spinel was almost afraid to breath.

"St...Steven..." Spinel began, barely above a whisper.

"Sorry, I know," he replied quietly, pulling back just enough to see her face. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"I-It's not that..." admitted Spinel, unable to meet his eyes. Once again, she was the one feeling embarrassed while Steven seemed perfectly calm.

"Are you still cold?" asked Steven, daring to slide his left hand from her shoulder up along her neck to rest his palm against her cheek.

Spinels heart tightened up once more. How could she possibly feel cold? Rather, Spinel felt warmer by the second. She probably should have been honest, but if he thought she had warmed up, wouldn't he pull further away? "...I'm...still a little..." Spinel wanted to lie, but found herself feeling rather guilty over it. Steven had confessed to her not too long ago. Wasn't this unfair to him?

However, Spinel wasn't the only one feeling guilty. Steven felt like he was using this situation to his benefit. After what he saw, watching the light leave her eyes, feeling her body grow cold and limp in his arms, all he wanted was to stay close to her. Honestly, he was just glad Spinel wasn't pushing him away. Gently, he turned her face with his hand, urging Spinel to meet his eyes. "You know...I—-"

"—don't..." pleaded Spinel as if she knew what he was going to say. She couldn't hear it again.

Steven couldn't help feeling a little hurt, "why?"

Still making no attempts to move away, Spinel reached up and tenderly pressed her hand over his own while it rested against her cheek. "...just...please..." she whispered. Surely he would find this unfair. Spinel knew how selfish she was being. Wanting to be close to him despite the fact that she refused to truly accept his feelings. She didn't want him to love her, but she didn't want him to stop either.

Though it stung a bit that Spinel wouldn't hear him out, Steven decided to let it go. She was a stubborn person and he could tell how hard it was for her to trust people. However, she trusted him, didn't she? Respecting her request, Steven didn't say another word on the matter, instead, he leaned in a bit more and kissed her cheek.

"St-!" Spinel gasped out lightly, her heart skipping a beat the moment his lips touched her skin.

He may have surprised her, but he noticed she hadn't moved. Pushing his luck and forcing himself to be brave, Steven pulled away just enough to meet her eyes. "Can I?"

Spinels breath hitched at once, and it felt like her heart had actually stopped for a moment. He wasn't very specific, but somehow she knew what he was asking. It was clear that he was embarrassed even asking that much, but what was she supposed to say? It was a bad idea right now. She knew that. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the word out. Instead, she found herself nodding just a little.

Stevens heart began thumping wildly in his chest. He expected her to be far more stubborn. A part of him wanted to ask if he actually heard right, but he didn't want to ruin it. He took a moment to memorize Spinels sheepish expression before closing the distance between their lips.

Back at the inn, Steven barely had a moment to appreciate it when Spinel granted him a quick kiss. This time, he was determined to savor every second. It may not have shown completely, but he was so nervous to even ask, that he still couldn't believe this was happening. The soft feeling of his lips, the heat from her cheeks, the bashful sound of her voice, he wanted to burn it all into his memory.

Spinel was just the same. As Stevens lips brushed against her own, she found herself at a loss. Her heart had quickened its pace and her mind had followed suit. This was nothing like the kiss she'd given him at first. Stevens kiss was tender and sweet. As always, he treated her so gently. Honestly, it made her heart ache. How could she be so selfish? Wouldn't this just make things harder for the both of them? Especially Steven, who might be mistaking his feelings? Still, no matter how apprehensive she was, she couldn't bring herself to stop him. In fact, Spinel was becoming greedier every second, returning his kiss in earnest.

Steven could hardly contain his joy, a smile laced his lips when Spinel returned his kiss. He slid his hand from her cheek, to the back of her neck, grazing her skin with his fingers. Regardless of the danger they were in, the mystery that plagued his mind, or the inevitable goodbye they may have to face...he'd never been so happy. His heart did back flips and a sweet shiver ran up his back, allowing himself to get lost in the moment.

"...Steven..?" breathed Spinel nervously, reaching over and gripping his shirt gently. Her cheeks were on fire, her heart was racing, and she had no idea how to handle this situation. In all her 6,000 years, this was her first time sharing a kiss with someone. Mermaids didn't really place priority on romance. It just wasn't important. What was she supposed to do next? She didn't want to embarrass herself. However, while Spinel was worried about how to proceed, she panicked when she felt Stevens tongue graze her lips.

With a gasp, Spinel flinched and Steven pulled back with a blush across his face. "S-sorry!" He exclaimed quickly, worried that he'd pushed his luck when he heard her gasp. I-I didn't-I wasn't tryin—I mean—-I got a little..." he stammered in a flustered frenzy. He had been so happy and when she whispered his name he all but lost his mind. If she hadn't reacted with shock like that, he may not have been able to stop.

Spinel stared up at Steven while he frantically tried to explain himself. Perhaps he thought she was angry with him? "It-it's okay," insisted Spinel finally. "I...was just surprised..." she muttered, placing her fingers to her lips as she glanced down at her lap.

"It's okay?" Steven repeated in surprise. Did that mean he could try again? He shook his head, trying to keep thoughts like that from taking over right now. He had to make sure he didn't lose control and scare her.

"...have you...done this before?" asked Spinel, trying to cool down her face by pressing her hands to her cheeks.

"Huh? Oh, uh...no. I...you're the first girl I've ever..." his voice trailed off, remembering the kiss he shared with the other Spinel in those images he saw.

Spinel smiled a bit, secretly pleased that Steven hadn't kissed another girl. Again, it was selfish of her, but she didn't want to think about sharing him. "Good..." she mumbled. Still embarrassed, Spinel pushed herself forward to lean against his chest. "I-I'm getting sleepy...and it will be cold if we sleep alone. So...this will have to do." Spinel didn't think she could look him in the eye right now. If she did, who know what she might say or do. It was just too embarrassing to admit to herself and to Steven, that she wanted to continue.

Steven was surprised Spinel would suggest sleeping like this, but he wasn't about to refuse. At the risk of pushing his luck once again, Steven wrapped his arms around Spinel and pulled her into a soft embrace. Though she was a little surprised, Spinel sighed and simply closed her eyes as she listened to Stevens heartbeat against her ear. The sound was so calming that it was almost hypnotic in slowly lulling Spinel to sleep. She was so comfortable in his arms, warmed by his embrace and the blanket, she couldn't think of a more suitable way to fall asleep.

As Spinel began to drift off, Steven leaned his back against the cave wall and adjusted the blanket to cover them both. He was glad Spinel felt comfortable enough with him to fall asleep like this, but he was certain he wouldn't be getting much himself. How could he when the girl he loved was in his arms like this? She was asleep, but he still felt nervous and his heart just wouldn't calm down. Especially after kissing her like that. Steven was grateful that even though Spinel wouldn't really accept his feelings, she wasn't completely rejecting him either. Did that mean he had a chance? Or was it just that she didn't want to hurt him? Honestly, he really didn't want to think about that while Spinel was sleeping in his arms. Instead, Steven closed his eyes and tried his best to fall asleep as well.

"Steven! Steven, wake up!"

With a start, Steven jolted from his sleep, realizing at once that he was no longer in the cave. He was back in the Garden and chaos surrounded them. Steven was sitting on the grass, Spinel kneeling by his side and taking his arm to try and force him to his feet. Once again, Spinel looked a little different, but at least she was alive. However, her dress had been torn in several places and she was patched with dirt. Everyone fighting around them looked like faceless, black shadows to Steven as Spinel pulled him along to run with her through the madness.

"Spinel?! What's—-"

"—-don't worry! We just need a little more time," she interrupted, focused on getting Steven away from the worst of it.

"Spinel, this way!" A faceless girl shouted as she waved them over while using a long whip to keep the others away.

Though Steven ran with Spinel, he was trying hard to identify anyone he could, but no matter how hard he tried, their faces had been scribbled out. Why was Spinel the only one he could recognize?

Finally, Spinel stopped at the edge of a small pond surrounded by pink roses, though some had been splattered with blood.

"Spinel, what's going on?! You have to tell me this time! I need to know what all this is," insisted Steven.

Without answering him, everything went silent and the faceless people all vanished, leaving Spinel and Steven alone as the Garden disappeared around them.

"This is all that's left," Spinel said quietly, keeping her back to him as she spoke.

"Left of what?" asked Steven, making sure not to move. "Is this a memory? Or just...some weird dream?"

"...I wanted to keep you safe. ...in the end...I couldn't really do anything for you."

"Spinel...please," tried Steven again. "What is all this?"

Turning to face him now, Spinel smiled sadly, revealing a large a gaping wound in her stomach that was slowly bleeding out. Tears streamed down her cheeks and blood trickled from the side of her mouth. "They found out. ...they knew what we were planning to do. Steven...don't let them use you again. Your power is growing, you can fight back this time."

Stevens heart nearly stopped the moment he saw her. Though he reminded himself that this was just a dream, seeing Spinel wounded and crying; it tore at his heart. He forced himself to stay still, though his fists trembled lightly. "...wh-what do you mean...this time? Is this some...past life? Do you know who hurt you?"

Spinel held out her hands, showing Steven the large pink diamond that rested in her palms. "...you brought me back...but everyone else is the same. We wanted to change things. You have the power to change whatever you want. ...but I messed everything up. I died. ...instead of changing what we planned...you couldn't control your power. You changed the world for me. To bring me back, to change our fate, you changed everything."

So it was true. Spinel had died. However, the way she explained it, it didn't sound like they'd all been reborn. It sounded more like he had just reshaped the world in order to bring Spinel back. As if everything had reset somehow. Still, it hurt his head to even consider something like that. "How...how would I have that kind of power? Why am I the only one that's remembering this? Why isn't Spinel—"

Spinel simply stared up at Steven and continued to hold the pink Diamond out for him. "We can do it right this time."

Steven sighed a bit. Why did his mind have to be so vague? He just wanted a few straight answers. "You want me to change things again?"

"You promised me, Steven. Are you going to break your promise?"

"Of course I won't," he answered quickly, "but I need to know who hurt you! How do I change anything on my own? Who are the ones that are after me?"

"Return to the Capital..." whispered Spinel, stepping towards him and placing the Diamond in his hands. "...this power is yours. Don't let it control you. You brought me back...you can fix everything too. You can fix what I broke..."

The Diamond in his hands began to warm up, burning like fire against his skin. It felt the same way when she had died in his arms. An overwhelming surge of emotion came flooding back to him. That terrible emptiness he felt when she died, it was like a part of him had been ripped away. Tears spilled from his eyes as Spinel gently guided his hands to wrap around the burning Diamond. "Spinel...I..."

"I promised you something too, Steven," she added softly, a content smile on her face now. "Soon...I'll fulfill that promise."

As she spoke, the Diamond projected a bright light and Steven began to feel as though something was pulling him back. He started to panic, thinking this was ending without all the answers he needed. "W-Wait," he pleaded, "I still need to know how who hurt you!"

"Aren't **you** the one hurting me?" Spinel asked, glancing down between them.

Steven gasped and followed her gaze. His hand was inside of her stomach with the Diamond. He panicked and jerked his hand from her wound, stepping back in horror, the Diamond no longer in his hand that was now covered in her warm blood. "I-I didn't—" he choked out, his voice cracking from the lump in his throat while tears poured down from his eyes. "I couldn't—-!"

Spinel dropped to her knees as Steven edged away from her, the ground beginning to crack and sink beneath them. She hunched over and held her stomach, "it's burning me...Steven. You have to hurry. It's **burning** me..."


	22. Into the City

Though the morning sun had risen some time ago, Steven and Spinel were still fast asleep. At least, until Spinel felt Steven begin to stir. Even before she opened her eyes, Spinel could hear the beating of Stevens heart. She quickly opened her eyes to find that they had moved in their sleep. No longer sitting up, they were lying on their sides, the blanket nearly removed from their bodies. It wouldn't have been a problem if Steven wasn't still holding onto her. Her body was pressed against his, their legs nearly entangled as he held her close with his face almost covered by her hair.

"Steven, wake up!" Spinel pleaded, her face nearly buried against his neck. Why was he so strong even in his sleep? "Steven!"

"...I'm sorry...! ...I—I-didn't...!" Steven mumbled in his sleep through stifled sobs.

Spinel stopped calling out when she heard him speak. Was he having a bad dream? Why would he dream about anything he would have to apologize for? Steven was too kind to have done anything bad. "H-hey..." she began softly, staying perfectly still now. "It's okay, Steven. Just...relax."

It took a moment or two, but as his hold on her loosened a bit, Spinel slid her body up in order to see his face. His arms were still around her, but his embrace wasn't as intense. Face to face now, she saw tears slipping down the side of his face. It must have been a terrible dream. She reached over and gently grazed her fingers along the trail of tears to wipe his face. The only other times she had seen him cry was for her sake so far. What sort of dream could hurt him like this? Whatever it might be, she didn't like seeing him sad. Without realizing it, her fingers trailed along his cheek slowly, stopping just before she reached his lips.

The kiss they shared last night was fresh in her mind. Recalling it so clearly, she could still feel the pressure of his lips on hers. This man that was bound to her, the more he said he loved her, the more he held and kissed her, it chipped away at her resolve to keep him at a distance. Not that she was doing a great job at that right now anyway. 

All of a sudden, she felt a little guilty. Wouldn't this seem weird to him if he woke up and saw her now? Her cheeks flushed and now she wasn't sure what to do. There was more room to wriggle out of his hold, but it still seemed like an awkward thing to do. What's more, she actually liked seeing his sleeping face now that he appeared to have calmed down. He looked so peaceful. The more she thought it, the more her cheeks burned. Spinel silently covered her face with her hands, trying suppress the embarrassed scream she wanted to belt out.

As Spinel panicked internally, Steven opened his eyes and wondered if he was still dreaming for a second. Spinel was laying in front of him and for some reason, covering her face. He could feel his arms around her waist while she wriggled anxiously. Honestly, he was relieved to have woken up. These dreams were bad for his heart. "...Spinel?"

"STARS!" Spinel gasped, removing her hands to see Steven staring blankly at her reddened face. "H-how long have you been awake...?!"

"Not so loud..." groaned Steven softly, "we're too close."

"Oh! S-sorry. I forgot..." replied Spinel, lowering her voice as she shrunk a little.

Steven smiled, feeling tears start to burn his eyes again. How many times was he going to have to watch Spinel bleed? It really wasn't something he wanted to think about, but when he saw her face, the image flooded back to him. Without a word, Steven gently tightened his hold on her, squeezing Spinel to his chest once again.

"Steven," began Spinel curiously. However, when she felt him tremble slightly, she decided to stay quiet. His dream was probably still fresh in his mind. "...did you have a bed dream...?" Spinel asked quietly.

"The worst..." Steven breathed out before planting a kiss on the top of her head. "...could we stay like this for a moment?"

"Sure," answered Spinel.

He was grateful that he woke up beside her. Those dreams would drive him crazy if he didn't get to see her face once he opened his eyes. Seeing her die was one thing, but to hurt her with his own hands? He couldn't even imagine doing something so horrible. How could he possibly hurt someone he loved?

It took him a little while to calm down, but eventually he loosened his hold on Spinel. "...thanks..."

Spinel offered him a warm smile. She was just glad to help him somehow. If he needed comfort, she didn't mind being a little embarrassed.

Her smile truly eased his heart. It's no wonder that he would fall for someone like her twice. Yet, it was clear the first time ended terribly. That woman's voice said he could make a happier ending. Hopefully that was true. "...I'll never let anything happen to you."

Spinel blushed, but noticed Stevens eyes change as he spoke. They had turned pink again. She wriggled free of his embrace and sat up, cupping his face in her hands as she stared into his eyes. "What are you feeling right now?" she asked seriously, trying to figure out what was causing these changes in him. This was the first time it happened when he wasn't in danger or really upset.

A little bewildered, Steven wasn't sure how to answer her. It was rather rare for Spinel to meet his eyes without shying away. Was something wrong? "I'm...feeling confused?"

"No," Spinel insisted as she shook her head. "When you said that you wouldn't let anything happen to me. How did you feel right then?"

Now it was Stevens turn to shy away a bit. "Uh...I...was feeling that...I wanted to keep you safe. That...you're...precious to me." He didn't usually have trouble expressing his feelings, but it felt a bit awkward while she was holding his face and staring so intently.

Spinel would have been embarrassed if she weren't so focused on figuring this out. To keep her safe. Was that what it was? She released his face and let her hands rest in her lap as she thought back to the other incidents. Whenever it happened, she assumed it was because Stevens life was in danger, but looking back, her life had been in danger too. When his eyes changed back in the Garden, Volley had said something about her dying. Now, he was only thinking about protecting her and it happened again.

"Spinel...what's going on?" He asked, sitting himself up as well and placing the blanket over her shoulders. Though he was curious, he was trying not to look at her. She was after all, still simply wearing his shirt to cover up. He felt guilty for staring while she sat there, but she looked absolutely stunning.

Still thinking, Spinel wrapped the blanket around herself absentmindedly. She'd heard his question, but how was she supposed to answer without revealing too much. She still didn't want him to know he was responsible for the soldiers deaths and she wasn't sure how to properly explain the power anyway. Even she didn't know what was going on. Either way, she'd promised Steven that they would face all this head on and that they would face it together. She couldn't just keep this to herself after that. "...I think we should get ready to go, but before that...we probably have a lot to talk about."

Steven nodded his head with a sigh, "we do," he agreed. "...why don't you get dressed and I'll scout the area a bit to see if I can figure out where we are."

Before Spinel could answer, Steven was already on his feet and heading for the caves entrance. He instructed Lion to stay behind and watch Spinel as he left to look around. She watched his back until the light of the sun glared back at her, forcing Spinel to look away. "...this...is far more complicated than I ever thought it would be..." sighed Spinel.

Lion did as he was told and stayed behind to watch over Spinel, earning an amused giggle from her when he planted himself at the entrance to the cave with his back to her, as if granting her some cover and privacy from leering eyes that may pass by. She quickly changed back into her black dress, not wanting to dirty the second dress that Steven had bought for her. They were the first gifts she had received from him after all.

Once she was dressed, Spinel shook out the blanket and placed it back into the bag. It was only now that she realized her shoes were missing. Spinel sighed miserably, "being human is convenient, but such a pain."

She had just started to put her hair back into pigtails when Steven came back from his scouting mission. She smiled, but Steven looked a bit unsettled, as if he had something unpleasant to tell her. "Did something happen? Are we far off from the Capital?"

"We are actually a few towns away. I guess Lion brought us pretty close..."

"Well, that's good isn't it?"

"Not really. The closer we are, the bigger the cities and that means more people and more security. We can't exactly walk through the city gates with a large pink Lion."

Glancing towards the beast, Spinel felt a little lonely thinking they would have to leave him behind. "...but..."

"Don't worry. I think he'll just linger around the borders. If we need him, he'll come for us."

Spinel frowned. Of course she wanted to ask how he might know this, but didn't that mean opening a can of worms? She wasn't ready to hear what Steven knew just yet. Every time she thought about that inevitable conversation, a terrible pit formed in her stomach. "...why can't Lion just bring us straight to the Capital?"

"There are way too many people from this point on. We have to be more careful. We don't know where he would bring us...so it's too risky. We have to go on foot from here. I think the city is having some sort of celebration today, so we can just blend into the large crowd. ...we just can't do anything to draw attention. We don't know what kind of magic they use here..."

Admittedly, Spinel was a little nervous to be heading into such a large city. She would have felt better having Lion with them. Sure, he would attract attention, but people would most likely avoid them because of it. Spinel just wasn't sure she could handle the crowds. Besides Steven, humans disgusted her. What if they met more people like Elaine? She certainly wasn't fond of the idea that they might be surrounded by more human females trying to seduce Steven.

After the two said goodbye to Lion, Steven grabbed their bag and they set off towards the city. Though Spinel insisted she was fine without her shoes, Steven refused to let her walk through the forest barefoot. Even if she was used to Steven carrying her by now, she couldn't help being embarrassed each time.

"What's the point of having legs if you won't let me walk?" Spinel pouted as Steven carried her like a princess to the main road.

"When we get you some shoes, you can walk all you want." Steven replied adamantly.

Spinel huffed a bit and crossed her arms over her chest. Steven could be terribly stubborn about these things. However, once they reached the main road into the city, Spinel flinched and quickly wrapped her arms around Stevens neck, hiding her face in his shoulder. He was confused at first, until he saw all the other people traveling along the main road.

There were decorated coaches and lots of villagers heading into the city by foot. Spinel must have been nervous with such a big crowd. Steven knew the bigger cities would be mean more people, but this was a little excessive.

"Excuse me," Steven called out to a passing young lady. "Was the nearby town evacuated or something?"

The young woman stopped, curiously glancing at Spinel before answering Steven. "Nothing like that. Ilya is just having its annual celebration and there's a special ceremony this year, so a lot more merchants and people from all around are coming to see."

"Special ceremony? What could draw such a crowd?"

"I'm not sure," the girl answered. "It wasn't announced in the flyers and I'm not a merchant or anything. I've just been hired as extra help. ...if you'll excuse me, I have to go and help set up. I hope you and your partner enjoy the celebration, please come and buy lots of flowers for your lady from the stalls!" She called out before running off to catch up with her small caravan.

"Hm, a celebration sounds fun don't you think?" Steven asked Spinel with a smile.

Spinel looked out at the crowd of people waiting to get into the gates of the walled off city. "So...it's like a party?"

"Mmhm. We had festivals and stuff back home, but I've never been to one in such a big place. I bet they'll have lots of fun things to do. Besides, they will be so many strangers from other towns, no one will notice two more. This will work out well for us."

Spinel wasn't so sure it would be any fun with all these humans around, but Steven did seem a little excited. As they joined the crowd, the gate to the city opened wide, several guards stationed at the entrance as people began to pile into the city. Spinel tried not to seem nervous while they passed the guards, but she couldn't help feeling a little stiff. Even at least once they inside the city walls, the crowd spread apart.

Though Spinel didn't like the thought of being around so humans, she had to admit that the city certainly looked fun. Streamers of blue and yellow lined the street lamps, flowers decorated every house that surrounded the large city center. Jugglers, dancers, musicians, and fortune tellers were set up all over alongside merchant and food stalls. Many people were dressed in blue or yellow, which Spinel assumed by now to be the city's banner colors.

"Oh! Here we go," Steven exclaimed as he finally let Spinel down. "There's a little boutique right here."

Spinel simply stared in silence while allowing Steven to take her hand and pull her into the small clothing store. There were a few other girls inside, gushing over a pink summer dress with white laced long sleeves.

"May I help you?" asked a young sales woman once Steven and Spinel walked in. Once she got a good look at them, it was clear that she didn't think they should be in here.

"Yes, thank you," Steven began, stepping towards the sales woman to speak with her.

Spinel wasn't paying much attention to their conversation. She was much more interested in all the clothes they had here. Why did humans need so many? Though she did wonder why the girls were so interested in the pink dress.

One of the girls had noticed Spinel staring at them and she informed the other two with a whisper before they all turned around.

"My, are you interested in this dress as well?" One of the girls asked with a clearly feigned smile.

"...not really. I just saw-"

"Well of course she would be," announced another girl, "even the lower class can appreciate something lovely. Even if they can't afford it."

Spinel frowned at once, "lower class?"

"Oh, please don't listen to my friend. She doesn't have much tact. ...however, perhaps you would have better luck in another shop. This one is quite expensive and...well...it's usually preferred if people wear shoes inside."

The other two girls giggled, but Spinel wasn't very amused. Mermaid or Human, there were always mean spirited minds. Personally, she would have liked to toss each one across the floor, but she didn't want to cause trouble for Steven or draw attention to herself with so many guards out on the streets.

However, as the girls snickered to one another, the sales woman rushed by them and took the pink dress down, surprising them all.

"Shall we get you changed, miss?" She asked Spinel.

"Huh? I didn't-"

"I told her you were gonna wear everything out," announced Steven when he stepped up behind her with a smile. "You were looking at it, so I thought you wanted it. Was I wrong?"

Spinel looked at the dress before glancing back at the girls who all seemed mortified by this. "No, you were right. I like it very much," answered Spinel.

Steven let the sales girl lead Spinel to a changing room, showing her several shoes she had picked out as well. He did notice the small group of girls, however, their shocked and angry faces confused him. Why did they look so upset on such a festive day?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments and well wishes I hope that everyone is staying healthy and safe! I’ll do my best to provide some entertainment during this quarantine. <3 
> 
> However, I am now having to write all this on my phone. So I apologize for any delay.


	23. Pink is the Color of Jealousy

"Are you ready? I want to see you," said Steven happily as he waited outside a small changing room in the boutique. Spinel had been taken back by the sales woman with a new dress, jewelry, and shoes. Normally, Steven figured Spinel would prefer something simple, but there was a celebration today. Why not spoil her a little? Even if they were just passing through, couldn't they have a little fun?

Spinel peeked out from behind the velvet curtain that blocked her changing room. "...isn't this...a little much?" asked Spinel with a blush.

"Nonsense," insisted the sales woman with an eager smile. "You look absolutely lovely."

Taking a deep breath, Spinel slid back the curtain to reveal herself. The dress Steven had chosen for her was a knee length, sweet baby pink halter with long sleeves made up of thin white lace. The saleswoman had done up Spinels hair in a pony tail with a cherry blossom flowered pin to match the dress and the pink flats she wore.

Though the saleswoman seemed pleased by Spinels appearance, Steven simply stared at her in stunned silence, making Spinel a little anxious. Did it look strange? "It's-it looks weird...doesn't it?"

Steven shook his head rapidly, the blush reaching his ears as he tried to think of the right words to describe what he was seeing. Spinel looked gorgeous of course, but even that seemed too dull a word right now. She simply took his breath away. "Not at all," he replied quickly. "You're so beautiful that I wasn't sure what to say." So much so that he was reluctant to have her leave the store and share that beauty with the other men walking around.

"Th-that's...you don't have to go that far," muttered Spinel as her cheeks burned. Secretly rather pleased that Steven approved.

Before leaving the boutique Steven decided to purchase some things for himself as well. He didn't want Spinel to be embarrassed walking around with him in dirty clothes. With new black pants, a short sleeved collared shirt and a black vest with blue trim, Steven looked like a new man. Spinel actually felt her heart skip a beat when he left his changing room, tugging at the vest in annoyance.

"I'm really not used to wearing such stiff clothes," mumbled Steven bashfully. He wasn't sure it really suited him, but he wanted to make sure he didn't diminish Spinels beauty with his haggard appearance. Besides, perhaps they would look more like a couple this way.

"I think you look...handsome..." admitted Spinel awkwardly.

Stevens heart swelled beneath his chest and he grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks. ...we should uh...really go and enjoy the festival a bit."

"Do we have time for that? I thought we were just passing through."

Maybe it was a little underhanded, but Steven really didn't want to let this opportunity pass by. Everything had been so hectic since they met and they were surely in for more trouble along the way. This was their chance to have a little fun. He wanted to see Spinel smile as much as possible. Besides, having a date during a large festival like this with the woman he loved, what could be better? "It's a celebration. We should enjoy ourselves, don't you think? I'm sure they'll have lots of things to do. And I...I'd really like to...spend the day with you like this."

Spinel was actually quite interested to see how this festival would play out and spending a carefree day with Steven sounded like fun. It was certainly better than having that serious talk she had been avoiding. "That actually sounds nice," agreed Spinel finally.

With a cheerful grin, Steven resisted the urge to hug her and instead rushed off with the saleswoman to pay for everything so that they could get going. When they finally left the little boutique, the festival was in full swing and though Spinel might have been excited to participate, she was still a little nervous with so many humans surrounding her. Anticipating this, Steven reached over and took her hand in his. "Don't worry," he began with a smile, "I'm right here. We blend in perfectly."

That's right. She was human right now. So why did she still worry that everyone could see right through her? "I somehow keep forgetting that," joked Spinel.

Steven stepped out onto the street, tugging Spinel along with him by the hand. The disguised mermaid quickly lost herself in all the decorations and excitement. Children were dashing along the crowd with balloons and toys bought from the vendorsThere were people in costume juggling or performing slight of hand and in the city center, a large stage had been set up where a group of women dressed in blue with golden ribbons danced gracefully to a cheerful tune. There was even more to be seen beyond the stage, but Spinel was already overwhelmed with everything so far.

As they walked along with the celebrating crowd, Steven found that he couldn't tear his eyes away from Spinels eager and curious face. He watched with a warm smile as her expression changed with everything she observed, shifting from confusion to excitement in an instant.

"Did you see that?!" Spinel exclaimed as she gripped Stevens hand gently and pointed towards the man that was swallowing fire amongst awe struck onlookers.

Steven blushed lightly once he realized he hadn't paid anything else any attention and quickly nodded his head. "Y-yeah, that's amazing."

"I didn't know humans ate things like that..." she muttered seriously, watching the performer as if studying him.

"No, it's just a trick," Steven chuckled. "Trust me, Fire is not edible."

"A trick..." repeated Spinel in awe, wondering how he was pulling something like that off without actual magic.

While Spinel studied the fire eater, Steven looked out absently at the crowd, merely glad to see so many people in good spirits. However, as his eyes wandered, something familiar caught his attention. It was impossible, but he was almost certain that he saw Elaine in the crowd. He couldn't be sure it was her, but his heart sank down to his stomach at once. It couldn't possibly be her. How would she get here in such a short amount of time? Why would she even be here at all?!

As Steven tried to keep the familiar girl in his sights, Spinel got distracted when she noticed a row of booths that seemed to be hosting games to play. Without realizing she did it, Spinel released Stevens hand and rushed over to one of the stalls in order to observe how to play. Though she never said anything to Steven about this before, Spinel was quite fond of games.

Trying to see above the crowd, Steven eventually lost sight of the girl he thought to be Elaine. She had slipped back into a bustle of people and vanished no matter how hard he tried to catch a glimpse of her again. With a heavy sigh, Steven wondered whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, or if this place was no longer safe. "Spinel, we should probably—"

It was then that Steven looked beside him to see that his mermaid had somehow taken flight and wandered away without him noticing. A small groan of panic escaped his throat as he began anxiously scanning the crowd in his attempt to find her.

Spinel on the other hand, had still not realized Steven was no longer with her. She was watching some humans play a game where they took a large mallet and slammed it against a pad. So far no one had been able to ring the bell at the top. It was a shame, Spinel was certain she'd be able to ring it if her power wasn't so watered down in human form.

"Why do you look so down?" A young man asked as he stepped into Spinels line of sight.

She quickly looked up at the man standing in front of her, but instead of answering him, Spinel frantically spun around and realized that Steven was no longer with her.

"Did you lose your friends? I can help you find them. I got separated from my group as well," said the man as he offered his arm to Spinel.

Again, the disguised mermaid gave him no answer. Staring at him blankly as she panicked internally over what to do. The young man didn't appear to be a soldier. With brown, clean cut hair, emerald eyes, and simply clothed in a white shirt with a brown leather vest, he seemed harmless enough. However, that didn't mean she was about to wander away with him.

"I'd rather look for him on my own," replied Spinel finally.

The young man was clearly disappointed by her answer, but didn't turn to leave. He simply lowered his arm and smiled. "A pretty girl like you really shouldn't be wandering around without your friends. It could be dangerous."

"Because strange men would come up to me?" Chided Spinel.

With an embarrassed chuckle, the man scratched his cheek and nodded, "yeah, well you got me there. But I think that just proves my point. Look, rather than wandering around aimlessly, my mother used to tell me it's better to stay in one place when you're lost. Why don't we wait here together so our friends can find us?"

Worrisome as it was, he had a point. If Spinel went looking for Steven, they would likely miss one another and she'd end up more lost than ever. Besides, she was sure he must be looking for her. "...well...I'll wait, but you don't have to wait with me."

"So stingy," the man teased with a laugh. "But I'd rather wait around with someone if you're okay with it. It would be boring on my own and I'd get to spend a little more time with a beautiful girl. My name is Caden, by the way. What's yours?"

Spinel glanced up at Caden, simply unwilling to answer him. Giving her name was probably not a good idea. She'd rather no one noticed her at all to be honest. "I-I just want to look at the games while I wait. I'm not interested in making friends." Spinel replied in a nervous huff as she turned away.

Caden sighed, but the smile never left his face. "You're quite stubborn, huh? Okay, well I guess I don't have to know your name to hang around. Wanna play a few games while we wait?"

Spinels eyes lit up a bit despite her effort to look disinterested. Of course she wanted to play something. The games were simple, but they looked like a lot of fun. However, she didn't want to appear too eager. "...I...I guess I could play a game or two while I wait for Steven to find me..." she mumbled.

"That's the spirit," exclaimed Caden before he turned and pointed towards the strength meter they stood beside. "Wanna try our luck here first?"

As Spinel tried to curb her excitement over the prospect of playing the games Caden offered, Steven had been zipping through the crowd, anxiously searching for her. He worried that maybe he was going in the wrong direction altogether. What if she had gone back towards the city gates? Or wandered towards the stage? How far had she actually gotten while he was distracted? When he thought it might be better to turn around and head back, he suddenly spotted Spinels strawberry hair and was relieved to see her standing in line for the strength test. He smiled and opened his mouth to call out for her, but was immediately silenced when he noticed a man standing rather close to her and talking as if they were friends.

Though Steven was a naturally friendly person, this caused his mood to take a quick turn. Still, he didn't want to make assumptions and upset anyone. Perhaps this stranger was simply trying to be friendly. Regardless of the reason, Steven shuffled through the crowd rather briskly and took Spinels hand when he finally reached her. Despite his unease for the stranger, he was terribly overjoyed to have located his mermaid.

"I'm so sorry," Steven said at once. "I shouldn't have taken my eyes off you."

Spinel was too happy to feel embarrassed when he suddenly took her hand. It was such a relief that he'd found her. "I probably shouldn't have wandered off..." she admitted bashfully. "...I got distracted by all these games."

"We were just waiting to play this strength test," Caden chimes in with a friendly smile. "I was keeping your friend company while admittedly being a little lost myself."

Steven smiled back, but placed both his hands on Spinels shoulders and gently pulled her back towards his chest before he held out his hand to greet Caden. "Well thanks for trying to help. I was really worried when she disappeared."

Spinel watched as the two shook hands, but panicked a bit when she noticed Caden's confused gaze towards Steven. She quickly turned and saw that Stevens eyes had become pink in color yet again. Why now?! She wasn't in any danger.

"Hey, your eyes are—"

"—-It's your turn!" Spinel interjected frantically, placing her hands on Caden's back to shove him forward.

Steven was confused and admittedly a little irritated when she acted so familiar with this stranger. It didn't help that Caden seemed amused by her nervous actions.

"Okay, okay," began Caden as he took the large hammer. "Hey, if I ring the bell, will you give me a reward?" He asked Spinel cheerfully.

She froze a bit, more worried about Steven than whatever Caden wanted from her. "That's not—-"

"—-does that go for me too?" Asked Steven seriously, looking quite determined now.

Spinel honestly just didn't want Caden to notice the change in Stevens eyes. After all, normal humans didn't have eyes like these. "If-I mean-yeah, sure." Spinel replied. Forgetting that she was technically answering both of their questions rather than just Stevens.

"Sounds like a friendly competition to me," exclaimed Caden happily. He wasn't sure if this couple was dating, but since Steven seemed so put off by him, he figured it was rather new. He didn't exactly have any plans to break up a couple if that was the case, but teasing them couldn't do much harm, right? "So let's just see who can get the higher score."

"Wait, a competition?" Repeated Spinel in an attempt to understand what had just happened.

"A kiss from a beautiful young lady would be a fine reward, wouldn't it?" Asked Caden as he prepared himself to swing the Hammer over his shoulder.

Just then, the ground shook lightly under their feet, causing the crowd to lose their balance just a bit. Though it confused everyone, it didn't seem to cause alarm as they all went about their business. Spinel however, glanced cautiously at Steven, who was visibly frowning now as his skin began to slowly change to a pinker hue.

"Steven!" Spinel called out to him in a hushed panic, lifting her hands to cup his face and force his attention to her. "We have to get away from the crowd!" She insisted urgently.

While Caden regained his footing, he laughed off the small tremor and turned back to the couple, but was surprised to find that they had both completely vanished and left him standing there alone.

The cause of this was of course Spinels plea to get away. Without saying a word, Steven had taken her hand and pulled her along with him until he spotted a shaded alleyway just off the roped festival area. Sneaking under the ribbons that cut off the side streets from the festival, Steven and Spinel hid themselves in the shadow of the narrow alleyway.

"Are you okay?!" Steven asked once they were alone.

"Eh? Yeah, I'm fine," answered Spinel, wondering why he was so concerned. Wasn't she the one that was supposed to worry right now?

Stevens shoulders relaxed a bit as he sighed in relief, but was now simply confused. "Then why did you-? You seemed upset back there. I thought something was wrong."

Spinel stared up at Steven with a blank expression. What was she supposed to say? Didn't he feel that tremor? Was he not aware that he was the cause? Even if his skin had returned to normal, his eyes were still pink, but if she brought it to his attention, wouldn't that mean they'd have to finally have that difficult conversation? And how was she supposed to explain it? It's not like she really knew what it was. She was only just starting to possibly figure out when it happened the most. "H-how did you feel back there? I mean, before the ground shook. You know, when Caden was joking about a ki—"

"—-he wasn't joking." Muttered Steven bitterly, his pink eyes beginning to glow in the shadow of the alleyway.

"W-Wait, don't get angry," pleaded Spinel in a panic, grabbing his arms in an attempt to calm him down. Was that it? He got angry because he thought Caden was serious about receiving a kiss? But why? Even if Caden was serious, it's not like she would actually offer one to some strange human. "...or so...you got jealous...?" Spinel realized as she said it aloud, feeling her cheeks begin to burn.

Steven looked uncomfortable now, his reddening cheeks giving him away as he looked off to the side. "I-I wouldn't say that. It's just...he was flirting with you and..." his voice trailed off and he appeared conflicted before he looked back at Spinel. "Yeah, I got jealous," he admitted finally.

Spinels heart skipped a beat when his eyes met her own. Why did Steven have to be so honest all the time? She suddenly felt rather nervous and lightly cleared her throat. "...well there's no reason to feel that way..." Though she was a bit alarmed that simple jealousy would make his eyes change like that, it was rather flattering.

"There's plenty of reason to feel that way," he replied, sulking a bit. "Plenty of men were looking at you...and that guy was clearly hoping for-"

Before Steven could finish, Spinel gently placed her hand over his mouth. She didn't want him to keep thinking that way. It would only serve to work him up further. Right now, it was important to calm him down. "I...I said it before, didn't I? You belong to me..." began Spinel with a blush, unable to meet his eyes. "So-so I don't have any need for...um..." her voice trailed off, trying to find the right words. "...I don't care about...you know, other..."

Steven stared down at Spinels bashful expression. A small pit forming in his stomach when he thought of another man seeing her make such a face. He placed his hand over hers and kissed her palm, unabashed by the gasp that escaped her lips.

"St-Steven...?" Spinel began sheepishly, but made no attempt to pull her hand from his gentle grip. Even when his lips traveled to her wrist, all Spinel could do was try to breath properly.

He could feel her pulse against his lips as he kissed her skin. Her heart must have been beating rather fast. With a smile, Steven brought her hand to his chest and placed it over his heart so that she could feel how his was racing too. "Even if you say I shouldn't worry, I'm too selfish where you're concerned."

Spinel could still feel the heat of kis on her skin as he held her hand firmly over his heart. "I can't really see you being selfish about anything..." she replied finally. It truly was a strange image. Steven was far too kind for his own good.

"It didn't even happen," Steven began, placing his free hand beneath her chin to tilt her head back slightly as he leaned in a bit closer, "but the very thought of you offering someone else a kiss made me crazy." He admitted softly, getting a little agitated as he recalled that mans over familiar attitude with Spinel.

Spinel felt her cheeks burn even further, watching Stevens pink eyes glow gently in the shade of the alley. She should have been worried about the change in color, but admittedly, the look in his eyes sent sweet shivers down her spine. "...I-it's really nothing to worry about..." she said again, "you're the only one I've ever..."

As her voice trailed off again, Steven closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against her own. He was sure that Spinel had no idea just how selfish he was becoming.

When Steven kissed her this time, there was little thought of putting a stop to it. Perhaps it was cruel of her, but his kiss offered a kind of euphoria that was difficult to deny. Brushing her lips against his, Spinel allowed herself to think of nothing else and the faint sounds of the festival faded off into the distance.

Their surroundings were quickly forgotten as Steven wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her body against his chest and sliding a hand up along her back. This selfishness was only becoming worse with each passing moment. How could he possibly allow anyone else to hold her like this?

With her hand still at his chest, Spinel could feel his heart racing against her palm. Even more so when he decided to hold her close. Though she had been trying to keep her embarrassment in check, she was mortified when a soft sigh escaped her lips as his hand snaked up her back. She didn't have much time to be embarrassed by this however, since soon after, she felt Stevens tongue once again slide over her lips and her heart nearly stopped. Barely able to think, Spinel parted her lips and gripped at his shirt, praying he couldn't feel how warm her face had surely become.

Steven had pressed his luck yet again. However, Spinel didn't seem quite as alarmed this time. Sure, he could feel her tense up a bit when his tongue traced her lips, but unlike before, she wasn't shying away. When she parted her lips and grazed his tongue with her own, Steven felt a shock pulse up his back and all reason was lost. The sweet taste of her kiss, coupled with Spinels honeyed voice, and her soft body pressed against him; it was pure bliss.

The longer the kiss went on, Spinel began to feel dizzy, almost weak. Stevens warm hands had begun exploring her human form a bit more and it was all she could do just to keep her legs from crumbling beneath her as their fevered breaths mixed together. It was a brand new feeling for Spinel. How could something that felt so good, make her feel so faint?

Spinel had all but reached her limit, but it wasn't until she felt Stevens hand graze along her thigh, that she gasped out out and broke the kiss for air. She would have fallen to her knees if Steven hadn't reacted so quickly and held her up.

"A-are you okay?!" He gasped out in concern as he caught his breath as well.

Spinel stared up at Steven, unsure what to say. She felt feverish, but if it weren't for the lack of air, she wouldn't have wanted him to stop. In fact, she could still taste his kiss and the strength of his embrace when he held her. It took a moment or two for Spinel to catch up, but once she had, all her thoughts began spinning rapidly in her head. Spinel was now recalling all the shameful sounds that she made, all the parts of her body that Steven had ran his hands over, and the feeling of his tongue dancing with her own. "D-don't look at me!" Spinel whimpered as she lowered her head.

"Wh-what?" Steven began, feeling a little panicked himself. He'd gotten so carried away. Perhaps Spinel was ashamed of how far she had humored him. "Why? I-I'm sorry if—I shouldn't have—"

Steadying herself, Spinel settled herself in Stevens hesitant embrace. Obviously he was worried that he'd done something wrong, but she couldn't look him in the eye right now. Instead, she buried her face in his shirt and shook her head, "I liked it..." she admitted, her bashful whimper muffled against his chest.

Steven froze in place, staring at the brick wall in front of him as his cheeks flushed. Spinel may have been embarrassed, but Stevens heart swelled happily. Kissing someone like this, it was his first time after all. Not only did he worry about getting carried away, he had been almost more nervous that she would hate it. "...how long do you think you'll need to calm down?" Asked Steven with a smile.

"...j-just give me a minute..." replied Spinel, refusing to look up from his chest until her ears stopped burning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for being so patient and understanding right now. This is a hard time for everyone. 
> 
> Some people have been asking if I’m okay and I’m doing as well as I can. Unfortunately, I recently lost my grandfather. (Not Covid)   
We can’t properly mourn as a family because of the Covid policies in place. So it’s been a little hard. 
> 
> Still, we must all cope as best we can and do our part to keep this virus from taking more lives and time with our families. 
> 
> Thank you all for the concern and for your patience. I sincerely hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy.


	24. A Spectacular Stage Show Fiasco

Steven and Spinel had stood in the alleyway for several minutes now. Making sure to stay quiet, Steven held Spinel close as she steadied her breathing with her face still buried in his shirt. 

“...you....haven’t said anything in a while...” Spinel mumbled into his chest.

Chuckling lightly, Steven had a bashful smile as he sighed, “I...was a little worried I’d say something stupid...”

Spinel took a deep breath, allowing herself to focus a bit more on the beat of Stevens heart before she decided to pull away. Both seemed quite nervous to face one another at the moment, but their nerves were rattle by something else when a delighted scream from the nearby crowd reached their ears.

“A MERMAID!” Shouted what sounded like an amazed little girl.

Steven and Spinel both jerked, waiting in anxious silence to make sure no one was looking or pointing at them. With a cautious sigh of relief, Steven stepped forward to peek out of the alley and back towards the festival.

“...looks like they’re setting up something on stage...” he whispered as Spinel tried to peek over his shoulder on her tip toes.

“Is it a real Mermaid? Or some weird show?”

Steven shook his head, “I’m not sure. ...usually the only way to actually see a mermaid would be at the Zoo in the Capital, but even then I heard it’s hard to get tickets. That’s why it was such a big event when you showed up on our shores.”

Spinel watched as the crowd bustled towards the large stage. It seemed as if the whole festival had stopped just to see the show. She decided that she couldn’t just sit back and wait. If there really was another Mermaid there, Spinel had to see for herself. She pushed her way past Steven and would have vanished in the crowd if Steven hadn’t caught her by the wrist.

“What are you doing?” Asked Steven in an urgent whisper.

“We have to go and see!” Insisted Spinel, matching his tone. “I can’t see the stage from here.”

“You can’t be serious, if there IS an actual Mermaid on stage, what if she spots you and recognizes you?!”

“Not all Mermaids know each other, Steven,” huffed Spinel as she attempted to wriggle her wrist free.

“Spinel, seriously, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Even if it’s a real Mermaid, we won’t be able to help without exposing you to danger. In a city like this, we will definitely be put on a wanted list.”

Though she knew Steven was right, she needed to know for sure. How could they just turn their backs to it and pretend nothing was going on. “You’re hurting me,” whined Spinel, prompting Steven to quickly release her wrist.

Spinel stuck out her tongue and dashed off into the crowd. “Seriously?!” Exclaimed Steven when he realized she’d tricked him. He tried his best to follow her pink/strawberry hair as she pushed her way through the crowd, but since he had a bigger build, Steven found it much harder to get through to her.

“—and I tell ya, folks,” continued the young man on stage as Spinel finally shoved her way within earshot. “You’ve all heard the Mermaid tales, but this one has by far exceeded anything I ever heard. I was told nearly ten ships went down in pursuit of the creature. Though the beast has been deprived of water for many days now, we ask that you keep small children out of arms reach of the stage. You never know if a Mermaid will still be able to attack on sheer force of will.”

Spinel felt her heart beat begin to speed up rapidly. This didn’t sound like some fake show for entertainment. They must have had an actual mermaid.

The crowd murmured in excitement, some children complained that they couldn’t stand closer while other kids cried, thinking the Mermaid was going to eat them. As the curtains began to draw back, the sound of the chattering crowd slowly started to die out when the opened curtains revealed a large, gray skinned Mermaid with rainbow colored strands of dreadlocks. Her tail resembled that of a shark and her body was covered in scars from old wounds, but they weren’t as alarming to see as the new wounds that had been afflicted on her. Her powerful arms were bound by the wrists with thick iron shackles that connected to a large steel ball to keep her from moving. Though the shackles were clear unnecessary as the Mermaid looked as if she would drop dead any moment.

Her breathing was heavy and ragged,and several lashes from an apparent whipping were still bleeding along her torso and back.

Just looking at the scene made Spinel feel dizzy. She nearly swayed back as her knees grew weak, but she did her best to rally and regain her composure. This mermaid was indeed someone that Spinel knew. It would be difficult to forget someone like her.

“Bismuth...” whispered Spinel under her breath.

“A friend of yours?” Murmured a young woman from behind Spinel.

It was then that the disguised Mermaid felt something sharp press against her back. A knife? Even if it was, the weapons sudden appearance didn’t alarm her as much as the voice of her assailant.

“Elaine?!” She gasped, turning her head to peek back over her shoulder.

“Don’t turn around,” Elaine demanded, easing the knife forward, poking through Spinels dress and now penetrating her skin slightly, causing Spinel to jerk in response.

“H-how...? What are you doing here?!” Asked Spinel in a confused panic. Before her was an old friend we who was being cruelly put on Display and at her back was a knife, wielded by a former annoyance that she thought was left behind.

“After you tried to hurt me, a few people found me that actually believed me. Turns out, they’ve been looking for you. They confirmed everything I suspected.” Whispered Elaine. “Now, I’m going to take you to them. If you try anything funny, I’ll expose you in this crowd.”

Spinel wasn’t sure what to do. Glancing from side to side, Steven was no where to be seen and Bismuth was still barely conscious on stage. “...who is looking for me?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Get moving...” hissed Elaine quietly.

Spinel tried desperately to think of anything that might get her out of this. She had to find Steven. Did Elaine already do something to him? Was he caught by whomever Elaine was working with?

As Spinel hesitated to move, trying to stall for time, an explosion seemed to go off somewhere in the distance and a voice rang out, “THE MERMAID IS USING IT’S MAGIC!”

Just like that, the crowd began to scatter in a panic. Mothers grabbed their children and ran, others stampeded was from the stage in fear, while some ‘brave’ tried to rush the stage in an attempt to stop the mermaid.

“Pl-please, ladies and gentlemen,” shouted the man on stage as he and some workers tried to stop the crowd from panicking and getting on stage. “Mermaids can’t use magic in this state! There’s no need to—“

Spinel didn’t waste any time. As soon as the panic started, she took advantage of the chaos and joined the crowd, jabbing back at Elaine with her elbow before running off with the flow of the frenzied citizens. Now, she had to find Steven. If only she hadn’t tricked him. Surely he never would have left her side if she didn’t insist on ditching him to see the stage.

People were shoving and slamming others down in an attempt to get as far from the stage as possible, it only got worse when another explosion went off. Everyone was scared and didn’t know which direction they should take, worried that they could get attacked from anywhere at this point.

“Steven! STEVEN!” Shouted Spinel as she did her best to maneuver her way through the crowd. If only she had more experience with these legs of hers. She wasn’t very good at dodging the others that bumped into her sides or the hands that were attempting to shove her out of the way. This made it even more difficult to find Steven amongst the madness.

Spinels desperate search for Steven was starting to seem hopeless amongst the entropy that ensued. Not to mention all the dust that had been riled up from the rushing crowd and nearby explosions. However, even through the mob of humans kicking up dirt, Spinel could see a distinct, bright pink color cutting through the crowd and prompting more screams from the humans as they darted out of its path.

Though shocked at first, Spinel was relieved to see Steven riding the pink Lion straight towards her with an extended hand. “I thought you said it wasn’t safe to bring him into the city,” shouted Spinel over the frantic cries around them as Steven grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her up into his lap, the Pink beast never breaking his stride.

“Kinda late for that now,” Steven replied, “he showed up when the explosions started! Was that the Mermaid?”

Spinel shook her head, “there’s no way! Bismuth can’t do anything like that!”

Steven wanted to point out that clearly Spinel did know the Mermaid on stage, but he’d wait until they got out of here. The biggest problem was the soldiers were now trying to quell the panic and of course a large Pink Lion with two passengers had caught their eye. Still, there was no turning back. They were already drawing attention. Why not take it a little further?

“Get to the stage!” Steven ordered, holding onto the Spinel to make sure she didn’t fall off as the Lion roared and made a quick turn to follow Stevens command.

Responding to the frenzy, soldiers were already up on stage, blocking several rioting humans from getting to the Mermaid while a few of them did their best to try and move the large creature. Steven’s eyes turned a bright pink as they approached the stage. He was going to try and push the soldiers back with this new power he had, but as it turned out, there was no need for it.

Just as Steven and Spinel reached the stage, Lars appeared behind one the soldiers handling the tired Mermaid and quickly dropped down to sweep under his feet, knocking the armored man off balance.

“It’s a pirate!” One of the soldiers called out before drawing his sword. A weapon that was quickly knocked out of his hand by a pink shockwave formed from the Lions roar, forcing the rest of the soldiers to fall backward.

“Thanks for the assist,” Lars greeted, quite pleased to see Steven and Spinel once again. Though a bit surprised by the Lion.

“Were you the one causing those explosions?!” Asked Steven while his Lion chomped through the iron chains that weighed Bismuth down and tied her to the stage.

“Bingo Bongo,” Lars replied with a snap of his fingers. “We had to create a distraction, didn’t we?”

“Steven!” Cried out a young woman as she shoved her way through some panicked humans.

Steven froze up when he saw her face. It was Elaine. So he hadn’t imagined it before. She really was here. But how? More importantly; why?

“You have to come with me,” Elaine pleaded, stepping over a guard that had been knocked out by Lions roar. “That Mermaid, she’s just using you! I heard it all from the others! You’ll die if you stay with her! I know there’s a powerful spell over you, but I can help you now!”

Lars wasn’t sure what this exchange had to do with the task at hand, but he couldn’t waste his time wondering. He took in a great deal of air to puff up his chest before shouting out, “let’s GO!” His booming voice formed a large, bright portal beside him, one which several of the Off Colors stepped out of and hurried to pull Bismuth inside.

While the Off Colors rescued Bismuth, Steven kept his focus on the brunette that pleaded with him. Was that really why she had followed them? Because she still thought he was under Spinels spell somehow? Steven tightened his grip on Spinel with one hand and with the other, he pat the Lions head, “don’t let her get any closer, boy.”

Elaine seemed shocked by Stevens reaction to her sincere bid for his safety. “St-Steven, there are people who want to help you!”

“You guys coming this time?” Lars asked suddenly, waiting to step into the portal, but pointing out the soldiers that were regaining consciousness.

Steven wasn’t sure where that portal was going to lead, but staying here was out of the question and at least he knew the Off Colors weren’t a threat to them. With a nod, Steven pat the Beasts head once more and it seemed to understand his request. The Lion leapt forward, rushing into the portal to escape the chaotic scene at the festival now.

“W-Wait!” Elaine screamed, trying to follow after them before Lars stepped through and the portal disappeared.

Once the portal faded into a wisp, a young man in golden yellow armor stepped out from backstage, accompanied by several soldiers in standard silver. Removing his helmet, the golden soldier was revealed to be Caden, the man Spinel had met just hours before.

“Sir, why did you let them go? They took the Mermaid...and they had a summoned Beast...” one of the soldiers pointed out in frustration. “This trap would have succeeded if you let us go after them...”

Caden smiled rubbing his chin as he stared in amusement at where the portal had been. He didn’t seem to be listening to his subordinate at all. “...Things are certainly getting more interesting than I thought they would...” he mumbled to himself.


	25. Separated

Rushing through the portal to follow after Lars and the others, Steven was holding tight to Spinel as they traveled on Lions back. Since the light from the portal nearly burned their eyes, Steven and Spinel simply held fast and waited for the exit to come. However Steven started to feel dizzy and even though he held tight to Spinel, he couldn’t feel her in his arms. Something was wrong.

He heard her voice shouting back at him, but it sounded different. More cheerful somehow. “Steven! Let’s play a game!”

His vision was already blinded by the portals light, but when he tried to open his eyes, the light was no longer coming from the portal. Instead, Steven seemed to be floating in a storm of white butterflies. Their fluttering was almost deafening as they swirled aggressively around him.

“Spinel?!” Steven cried out, his voice barely audible over the butterflies flapping wings that seemed to echo off of nothing.

He didn’t understand what was happening. A moment ago, he was on Lions back trying to escape with Spinel. Now, he was alone amongst these strange insects. “What is happening?!” He demanded, holding his hands to his ears in an attempt to drown out the horrible sound that surrounded him.

“You did this!” A voice rang out in the distance. The same voice that he heard before. The woman that told him to use his power better this time around. However, her voice was no longer gentle. It was angry. “You’re a monster!”

“No!” Steven shouted back, barely able to hear the woman through the butterflies. “I’m not! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

The sound of the butterflies ceased at once and suddenly Steven was standing alone in a room full of pink, Dawn colored clouds.

“You really think you did nothing wrong?”

Steven gasped and turned on his heel quickly to see Connie standing behind him. Her face was covered by a large white butterfly that had landed there, but he knew it was her. Why was she here?

“Connie? ...what are you-“

“—you’re selfish. You turned everything upside down and yet you still can’t protect her.”

Steven could feel his heart pounding hard beneath his chest. Something was building up inside of him, something he didn’t want to remember. “St-stop...” he pleaded, placing his hands over his ears once more as tears gripped the corners of his eyes. “Just stop! I don’t like this! I don’t want to see this anymore! Just take me back to Spinel!”

As Steven tried not to listen, the floor beneath him began to ripple and a mermaid surfaced to grab his leg with her hands. Her face was also covered by a butterfly, but the rainbow colored hair reminded him of the mermaid they’d seen on stage. “Because that’s what this has all been about, hasn’t it Steven?” Asked the mermaid bitterly. “But once she’s gone, we’ll be free.”

“Gone?! What are you gonna-“

Another mermaid emerged to wrap her hands around his other ankle, holding Steven there so he couldn’t escape. This time, the mermaids face was uncovered. It was Volley. Her left eye had been hallowed out, but she had a wild smile on her face as she looked up at the horrified young man.

“You’ll be back to normal once she’s gone,” volley insisted in a cheerful, desperate voice. “Just let her go, Steven.”

“Get off of me!” He shouted angrily now, frantic to get away from their grip and that empty eye that he couldn’t look away from.

“Once she knows what you did...she’ll hate you,” Connie began again, walking towards Steven slowly. “Once she remembers what you really are and what you’ve done...”

Steven wasn’t entirely sure what Connie meant, but the image of his hand penetrating Spinels stomach was quickly brought to mind and he began to panic further. He didn’t really kill Spinel, did he? Wasn’t that just some horrible nightmare?

“She’ll remember soon enough. You’ll remember everything...and then you’ll lose her again. Because you can’t control it anymore. You’ll break everything just like before.”

“C-Connie...I-stop this! Please! I just want to see Spinel! Let me go back!”

“You can’t hide behind her anymore!” The three shouted together. As Steven looked to each one in a panic, a terrible sound began to echo from Volleys hallow eye socket and suddenly a swarm of white butterflies sprang from it, forcing Steven to close his eyes and shield his face from the oncoming swarm.

“This game of pretend is coming to an end soon Steven. ...let’s see if you can hang on until that happens...” said Connie, her voice somehow clear over the butterflies flapping wings, which soon consumed everything around him, leaving Steven feeling helpless as he fell in the tunneled storm of insects.

As Steven was lost in the illusion, he was shouting for everything to stop and Spinel had been trying to bring him back to reality. She’d turned around, holding onto Steven by his collar in an attempt to keep him steady on Lions back.

“Steven-STEVEN! Snap out of it!!” She pleaded aloud, unsure how to bring him out of this. It wasn’t until Steven started struggling did Spinel lose her balance and began to feel herself and Steven slipping off of Lions back. With a gasp, Spinel hugged Steven around the waist as they fell into the portals light.

This light vanished quickly and Spinel only panicked further when she realized they were falling through the clouds. “Oh my gosh!! Oh my gosh!!” She shouted in a frenzy, her mind racing over what she was supposed to do.

Steven opened his eyes with a start, expecting to see the butterflies, but instead, he saw the open sky above him and felt the sharp wind at his back as he and Spinel fell towards the ground.

“Wha—Spinel!” Steven shouted in a panic.

“We’re falling stupid!!” Spinel replied, trying to shout over the wind, but refusing to open her eyes. Spinel was not good with heights. At all.

“How?!”

“Does it matter?! What are we gonna do?!”

Steven wasn’t sure how to get out of this, but the ground was fast approaching and he was sure they wouldn’t go unscathed once the fall was over. If there was ever a time to remember something about these powers of his, it would be now. He grit his teeth and wrapped his arms around Spinel tight, pleading with any force out there that he might be able to protect Spinel somehow.

Suddenly, the wind around them ceased and everything became a tinted pink color. They were still falling, but their descent had slowed and miraculously, Steven had managed to put some sort of bubble around them. “Spinel, Spinel open your eyes!” He insisted in relief, shaking her shoulders a bit.

Spinel cracked open one eye, but was still frightened when she saw how high up they still were. Even if she was relieved they weren’t falling anymore, she was frozen from fear. “G-good! Now-now get us down!”

Steven glanced down, holding Spinel close as they slowly floated in the sky, now trapped in a bubble he made without knowing how to control it. It slowed them down, but he wasn’t sure how to speed up the process or how long the bubble would even last. “Thaaaat...might be problematic...” he replied with a sigh, “...but at least we won’t be turned into pancakes.”

“How did we even end up like this? What the hell happened to you?!” Spinel demanded, her heart beating so fast that she was sure to pass out at any moment.

Recalling the unfortunate images he saw, Steven was forced to remember Connies words. How Spinel would hate him once she remembered. The thought terrified him. What if he really did hurt Spinel in some past life? Was that what he kept seeing? “I...I don’t...remember,” he lied.

Such an obvious lie as well. Spinel could tell right away that it wasn’t the truth, but she was not in the mood to drag it out of him. She just wanted to put her feet back on the ground. “...well I-I don’t really do heights. We should have just taken the train like we planned.”

Luckily, Steven still had their duffle bag strapped around his shoulder and across his chest. Being separated from Lion would mean they’d need travel expenses again. That is, once they figured out where they were going to land. He looked down once again and his heart skipped a beat. They had already caught the attention of some soldiers that were traveling along the road. It seems a pink bubble descending from the sky wouldn’t exactly go unnoticed.

“Goddammit,” Steven muttered before pushing Spinel off of him.

“Hey-! What’s—“

Without much time to explain, Steven removed the duffle bag from his shoulders and quickly wrapped its strap around Spinel.

“I’m sorry,” he said before he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lips.

Spinels heart skipped a beat, but before she was able to question anything, she saw Stevens skin start to turn pink. Gasping lightly against his lips, Spinel placed her hands at his chest to push him back. “Steven! You-“

“-just stay hidden and stay safe,” Steven interrupted, looking rather troubled. “I promise we won’t be apart for long.”

“Apart? What—?!”

Spinel was panicked now. What was Steven talking about? Without a moment to connect the dots, Steven placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away, a separate bubble forming around her. Suddenly, she realized what was going on. He was sending her away. Though she initially wanted to avoid looking down, she glanced at the ground below and saw the patrol of soldiers waiting there, getting ever closer as they lowered slowly.

“N-no! Steven! No!” Spinel demanded, banging at the edge of her bubble as it slowly parted from Stevens original bubble. “Don’t do this! Let me out!”

“Sorry,” Steven said again, a little weaker this time. He wasn’t even sure he’d be able to make two of these things, but he was glad it worked. Those soldiers couldn’t have been down there by coincidence. It’s like they knew somehow that he and Spinel would be falling towards this place. He couldn’t let them capture her. Who knows what kinds of torture she would have to endure at the Capital. If he had the power to get her away safely, he would try anything.

Though Spinel was shouting and banging at the edge of her bubble, Steven could barely hear her. He was starting to feel weak, but he still had something left to try. Concentrating hard, Steven raised his hand and smashed it against Spinels bubble, finally fully separating the two and sending Spinels bubble away like a shot. 

Watching silently as Spinel was sent away, Steven smiled and tried to catch his breath. It worked. He knew she’d be angry and maybe even a little scared, but hopefully she would land somewhere safe. At least it would be safer than here. If he had the strength, he would try to avoid the soldiers himself, but sending Spinel away took so much out of him that he was having trouble keeping conscious.

As Stevens bubble finally neared the ground, a soldier stepped forward to approach it, raising a brow when he saw an unconscious Steven inside. It was Caden, who recognized Steven from the festival that ended not long ago.

“You said there would be two,” stated Caden, tapping the bubble curiously.

“...does it matter? After all...he’s the only one you need,” answered Garnet as she stepped out from behind the soldiers that followed Caden.

“If he really is who you say he is...than I guess the girl is of no consequence. Still, I’ll need to send some men to look in the direction she went,” sighed Caden, eyeing Garnet suspiciously, “men, come and break this bubble. Once we do, we’ll need to take the prisoner to the Palace.”

A few soldiers took their horses and took off in Spinels direction, while the rest did as instructed and went to work on an attempt to break down Stevens forcefield while their Captain stood back, keeping his eye on Garnet as she watched things play out silently.


	26. Separate Paths

Spinel was helpless as the bubble hurled off and away from Steven. She was knocked forward by the force of suddenly being flung across the sky, but as she watched the bubble smash through the trees, Spinel wondered if it would ever stop.

“Take me back!!” She shouted, pounding at the bottom of the pink sphere once it finally began to slow down and lower itself towards the ground. Luckily, or perhaps by Stevens will, the bubble seemed to stop on a hill covered with large trees, most which had been damaged by the bubble upon entering the small forest.

“I said to take me back! Dammit, Steven!” Spinel shouted again, this time kicking her foot hard against the bubbles surface once it had stopped against the trunk of one of the larger trees. Angry tears gripped at the mermaids eyes, frustrated that she was once again unable to do anything while Steven protected her. By now the soldiers had him and who knows where they would take him. If they somehow knew he was harboring a mermaid, he’d surely be charged with treason and sentenced to death. “This isn’t fair,” began Spinel in a huff, still kicking at slamming her fists against the bubble in an attempt to escape and vent her frustration. “You’re always only thinking of me! Well now you’re alone and I can’t help you! What do you mean separated for a little while?! I don’t want to be separated at all you moron!! What if you-“

Spinel stopped shouted and quickly wiped her eyes, swallowing the large lump in her throat as she stopped herself from saying aloud what she feared the most. What would she do if Steven actually died? Was that woman’s premonition about this? Is this how Steven loses his life? Garnet told her that she needed to stay with Steven, but they were separated now. “No, no, no, no...!” Mumbled Spinel anxiously, “...come on, let me out of here,” she pleaded to no one in particular. Surely the bubble couldn’t hear her, but what else could she do? “Please!! I have to get back! I have to find him!”

Waiting in silence for a moment, Spinels anxiety doubled with every second that passed by. How long was she going to be stuck in this? With a tired sigh, Spinel slumped to her knees and tugged at her pigtails, trying to calm herself down and think. For the time being, she was stuck, so her best course of action was to come up with a plan for when she got out.

Finding out where Steven was taken would be her first priority and the second would be to find a way to get to him. Now that she was thinking a little clearer, Spinel realized that finding Steven may not have been as hard as she previously worried about. Though she didn’t like that he’d done it without consulting her, Steven had bound himself to her. Their hearts were linked together now. If she preformed a little ritual, finding Steven would be easy. It would be painful and a little risky considering she’d never done it before, but it was the most accurate and fastest way to find him. Another risk in performing this ritual was that she had to be in her mermaid form to use magic, so she’d have to find a private place to drench herself in water.

Once Spinel had calmed down a little, the bubble began to dissipate. She quickly got to her feet and stepped out, finally feeling like she was getting some control over the situation. Now all she needed to do was find a source of water. Any place big enough to submerge in would be watched over for sure, but surely the nearby town had an inn. She didn’t much like the idea of interacting with humans without Steven, but she didn’t have a lot of options. She’d also have to eventually find some transportation, which meant she’d have to go into town sooner or later. Spinel steeled herself and gripped the duffles strap that hung across her chest. Without wasting anymore time, she began to make her way down the hill, thinking it would be best to avoid any clear paths. The sun was going to set soon and it might have been wiser to set up camp, but the sooner she could find Steven, the less anxious she would feel. Not that Spinel was too confident in her survival skills without him anyway. Steven was the one who found shelters and made fire, he was the one who read the maps and bought what they needed. Spinel wasn’t sure how to do any of that on her own. She’d never read a map in her life.

“This is so stupid...” she muttered to herself, climbing over a fallen tree, “...how am I supposed to find you if I can’t read directions...”

Spinel grumbled her complaints to no one, trying to remember everything she would berate Steven for when she found him, until she started to feel a horrible pain in her stomach.

Her body lurched forward with the sudden rush of pain and Spinel was dropped to her knees, holding tight to her stomach and trying her best not throw up. It wasn’t like anything she felt before. It burned. As if a fire was trying to force its way out through her skin. The pain was localized to her stomach, but she could barely breath from the intensity of it. This was worse than receiving the Gem. It was worse than growing her legs.

“Wh-what is th—?!” Spinel tried to speak, but when she opened her mouth, it felt as if the fire tried to surge up through her throat.

“Does it hurt?”

Spinel’s heart jumped when she heard Stevens Familiar voice. With a quick gasp, she looked up, only to see him staring down at her, his hands bloodied and his eyes turned pink.

“Ste-Steven?”

“...I’m so sorry,” he began, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I didn’t want to. I didn’t want-“

“STOP IT!” Spinel screamed, her voice echoing amongst the trees.“I don’t want to remember!”

Steven knelt down and reached out towards her stomach. “I can make the pain go away...”

Spinel panicked. Though the pain was unbearable, she had a terrible sense of dread as he came closer to her. “No-! Stop it! Don’t touch me!”

Steven stopped, visibly hurt by her words. “...do you hate...for what I’ve done?”

“N-no! I don’t hate you,” replied Spinel quickly, doing her best to stay focused as the pain made her vision blur. The line between reality and this illusion was becoming thinner and thinner in her mind. It was difficult to tell what was real any m more. 

“I didn’t want to do it...” Steven said again.

“J-just stop!” Spinel pleaded, not wanting to hear anymore. It was just like back in the cave. Steven kept talking about a possible past between them and all Spinel could feel was an overwhelming fear. She didn’t want to know. Whatever it was, she didn’t want to remember.

“You need to sleep, Spinel...” whispered the illusion as he placed his hand over the gem on her chest.

“No!” Shouted Spinel as she swatted his hand away and shuffled back to put some distance between them. Moving was difficult, but she couldn’t let this beat her. Whatever this was, it wasn’t her Steven. “Don’t touch me! I need to find-I need—“

Spinel gasped for breath, unable to speak anymore as the pain became simply unbearable. She huddled over and closed her eyes, gritting her teeth in an attempt to get through this. The fire inside was growing hotter and hotter, as if melting through her skin to get out. Without Spinel noticing anything, the illusion of Steven had turned completely pink and sat beside her, placing its hand on her back.

“...I’m sorry...” he whispered once again, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

Though she couldn’t feel his lips, a cooling sensation rushed through her body and her eyes became heavy. The pain was slowly fading away, but so was the scene in front of her. When she looked up to try and stay awake, the pink Steven smiled down at her.

“Sleep for now...” he said softly.

“N....no...I...” mumbled Spinel as she struggled to keep her eyes open, the illusion of Steven watching silently as her body fell limp against the ground and everything went dark.

While Spinel lost her battle to stay awake, Steven was being placed onto a large bed by several soldiers. Each one trying to move him as quickly as possible. Once the bubble had disappeared around him, they found it very difficult to transport the young man. A strange, pink light glowed around Stevens body, causing harm to anyone trying to touch him. Even though they were able to transport Steven to the bedroom with a stretcher, the soldiers that had to lift him had their hands burned through their gloves.

When Steven was finally placed onto the bed, the soldiers that lifted him rushed out of the room for medical care, holding their burnt hands as they clambered away.

Their leader, Caden, now stood beside the bed, staring down at the slumbering young man. “So what now?” He asked as Garnet entered the room.

“...I haven’t seen anything yet,” answered Garnet, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.

“Are you sure we need the girl?” He asked again with a sigh. “The soldier I sent after her hasn’t returned.”

Garnet shook her head slowly, “To get what you want from Steven...you’ll need Spinel, but remember what I told...it’s a dangerous strategy. When it comes to Spinel...Steven can become a bit unstable.”

Caden groaned lightly, “I should’ve grabbed her when they were separated at the festival.”

“You and countless others could have died if you did,” insisted Garnet stoically. “You have to be careful about how you handle this. Steven doesn’t know how to control himself yet.” 

“Yeah...well now we are running out of time. If that mermaid isn’t caught before we begin, we’ll have to deal with some acceptable losses or move on to plan B. The lab said they’re ready to move.”

“...you’re underestimating him,” warned Garnet, “He’s not one of your experiments. His power is-

Caden held up his hand to stop her, “-I know. I remember, but I have a job to do. So just do whatever it takes to keep him calm until we find the mermaid. Stay with him and call for someone when he wakes up.”

After giving his instructions, Caden left the room, closing the large double doors behind him. Garnet waited for several minutes in silence, making sure that no one was going to come back inside before she took a chair and placed it beside the bed to sit next to Steven as he slept.

“...forgive me, Steven...” she mumbled softly, placing her hand on the bed, careful not to touch him while he was emitting that pink glow. “...soon...you’ll understand everything.” Surely he couldn’t hear her, but for now it was all Garnet could offer him. The wheels were turning. Steven and Spinel had set down their paths and Garnet was doing her part to set it in motion. There was no turning back now.


End file.
